Academy’s Euro stars

Cliftonville were well represented on both the pitch and the scoresheet as two Northern Ireland Under-19 sides contested a series of European Championship qualifiers over the past week.

The older age group – featuring in elite round fixtures to reach Euro 2026 – were in Romania for three games, with Manager Gareth McAuley naming Reds duo Joe Sheridan and Keevan Hawthorne in his squad.

Both were in the starting XI for a narrow 1-0 loss to Ukraine last Wednesday and for Saturday’s goalless draw with the hosts, with the duo named on the bench for yesterday’s 1-0 defeat of Kazakhstan, during which Sheridan was introduced as a substitute.

The younger panel, bidding to qualify for Euro 2027 under the guidance of former Cliftonville coach Kris Lindsay, defeated Azerbaijan 2-1 thanks to goals from Reds defender Shea McGarry and ex-Solitude youngster Coran Madden on Saturday in a game that also saw Academy talent Paul Stanfield in the starting line-up, where he was again joined by McGarry in yesterday’s 0-0 stalemate with hosts Lithuania.

Meanwhile, nine Cliftonville players – Cuan O’Braidagh, Max McAuley, Liam McAteer, Riley McCreery, Cuan Carmichael, Keegan O’Connor, Ryland Perry, Anton Doras and Ronan Vernon – have been named in the Northern Ireland Under-14 Development Squad that will face Rangers in a friendly on Saturday, April 18, with fellow Academy stars Cillian Murray and Padai O’Kane in the Under-16 panel for a forthcoming development tournament in North Macedonia.