ALTHOUGH THE DEPARTURE of 11 players threatened to put a spanner in the works, the Letterkenny Rovers conveyor belt has continued to roll.
Tomorrow Anthony Gorman leads the Rovers youth team into an FAI Youth Cup clash against Waterford side Ballinroad (Aura Centre, 12 noon) with the prize on offer a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Rovers have been at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three years and have recovered commendably from seeing such a vast swathe of their ranks depart in the summer.
And yet, here they stand, poised once more for deliverance on the national stage.
“We have good form in the Youth Cup and we want that to continue,” Gorman says.
“There is no doubt that it’s great for player development and it’s a great, high level of competition to be involved in.
“This is fantastic for the players. We will emphasise the importance of it to the players and all credit goes to them for getting where they have.
“A lot of teams across the country would be effected like we have been, with the loss of players to League of Ireland teams at Under-19 and Under-17 level. It has maybe taken down the standard of Youth League teams, but that doesn’t take anything away.
“We have competed really well this year and we’ve kept the best for the Cup.”
Last Saturday, Codey Brogan netted the only goal of the game as Rovers defeated Mountview Boys 1-0.
Goalkeeper Sean Friel saved a second-half penalty and the Raphoe man is the sole regular player to remain.
BJ Banda Gareth Doherty, Luke Nelis, Ciaran Kelly, Jason McGee, Eoin Slevin, Paul Ferry, Daire Ó Baoill, Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí and Ryan Finn all went to Finn Harps while Adrian Delap signed for Derry City.
“Before we lost all those players, there was little interest in the Youth League,” Gorman says.
“But I think clubs saw this as a chance to assemble squads to compete. It’s levelled the playing field and Drumkeen United went on to win the Youth League, which was great for them.”
Rovers’ passage here hasn’t been all smooth. They required penalties before they defeated Bonagee United and they took an age to break Swilly’s resistance only to win 4-0.
“The Youth Cup run has been about the team growing,” says Gorman. “We’ve rode our luck at times, but you need that in Cup runs. Our work-rate, our effort and desire have been fantastic.
“We’re getting great numbers and they’re there because they want to be there and they want to play.
“Some of them are in training with the seniors, which is unbelievable experience and they’re training at a tempo and intensity that they’ve never seen before.”
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