Under 20 players off with the Northern Ireland squad.
Young internationals (left to right) Jack Henderson, Jamie Glover and Eamon McLoughlin.
Three Glentoran Academy players flew to Jersey today to represent Northern Ireland in the Under 18 Centenary Shield in a warm up game for the main tournament. The three Glentoran Academy players selected were Jack Henderson, Eamon McLoughlin and Jamie Glover. Paul O’Neill was also selected for the squad but unfortunately Paul has not played in the past three weeks through injury so misses out on the travelling squad. However Paul has now recovered from his injury and will be back in contention for the club’s U20 game next Saturday.
Under 20s Manager David Lowry said on Sunday: “We are very proud to have three representatives in the travelling party to Jersey to represent the Under 18 schoolboy International side and wish the boys and their team mates all the best for the trip and for the Centenary Shield itself. The three lads have all come into their own at under 20 level this season with Jack having already made a first team appearance in pre-season. Jack has been around the squad since the summer while Jamie and Eamon have grown into u20s football as the season has progressed and are now pivotal members of the squad. All three players are still eligible for under 18 football with Jamie also eligible again next season. It is testament to what we are trying to achieve with the U20s that these young lads have stepped up to this level and are now being recognised at International level.
It is disappointing for Paul O’Neill who was in the initial training squad after catching Frankie Wilson’s eye when he scored 5 goals in a U20 game at The Oval against Dungannon but he has been plagued with niggly injuries since. Paul is back fighting fit again now so hopefully he can have a successful end to the season".
January Transfer Round Up U18/20 Development Squad
Welcome Home Josh and Jack!
Josh Tipping and Dean Truesdale
January was a very successful month off the pitch for the U18/20 Development squad as we brought in 5 new recruits across the two teams.
The headline news has been the return to the club of Jack White and Josh Tipping from professional contracts in England, Jack with Wigan Athletic and Josh with Chesterfield.
Neither player has played since leaving their English clubs in August so they will take some time to get up to match fitness but we are delighted to have both back at the club.
U20 Manager David Lowry said “I have worked with Josh since he was ten years old so when I heard he was unhappy in England I made contact with him to try and offer support and encouragement. When it became clear he wanted to return home we began the process of getting him back and enjoying football again. It has been a few months but Josh seems to have his hunger for the game back again and that can only be a huge boost for the club. Josh is a big 6ft 2 Centre Forward who knows where the net is! At still just 17 years of age he has a lot of football ahead of him.
It will take Josh some time to get back to full match fitness and the key for him is that he is enjoying his football again before we demand too much of him, he played away to Coleraine for the 20s last week and proved he has lost none of his intelligence on the pitch.
Jack was a different matter. He returned home later from England than Josh after doing well at Wigan but had a niggling ankle injury that kept hampering his return to football so he decided to take complete rest to get over the problem. We were able to stave off interest in Jack from other NIFL clubs and look forward to seeing him get back to full fitness and hopefully knock on Gary’s door before too long. Jack can play left back or left wing and can even play centrally if needed so his versatility will help. It's great that two in demand young prospects like Josh and Jack were so keep to return to the club where they grew up and we look forward to helping them achieve all their goals in the future.”
Also coming in to the U20 squad is Dean Truesdale. Dean has just turned 18 and joins us from Linfield where he made an appearance in the Steel and Sons Cup Final a few weeks ago.
David Lowry: "Dean can play wide on the left or up front and has electrifying pace, like josh he is also around 6ft 2 and can handle the physical side of the game while providing a goal threat from the left
We are also pleased to welcome Adam Doyle from Crusaders and Benji McKeown from Glenavon who will come into the U18/20 Development group
Leaving The Oval are Padraig Hughes, Mark Lowe and Sean Wallace who have gone to join several ex Glens players and former Glens U20 coaching staff at their local club Donegal Celtic. We wish the players well as they drop down the leagues to try and establish themselves at first team level".