Bir necessity

Seven Cliftonville players were part of the Northern Ireland Under-14 squad that recently competed at the Albir Cup in Spain.

Cuan O’Braidagh, Riley McCreery, Liam McAteer, Ronan Vernon, Cuan Carmichael, Keagan O’Connor and Ryland Perry all enjoyed game time across the three-match series that saw Reds representation on the scoresheet.

O’Connor found the net from the penalty spot and McCreery nodded in an equaliser as Matthew Tipton’s side hit back from 2-0 down against United Arab Emirates, only to eventually succumb to a 5-2 defeat.

After losing 2-0 to the hosts, Northern Ireland’s weekend encounter with Turkiye was abandoned at half-time due to thunderstorms, but the trip proved a beneficial experience for all players and, as ever, we were very proud to see our Academy talents perform so well on such a demanding stage.