Irishman makes history after Man United friendly win in Norway
Man United continued their pre-season preparations with their first win of the summer, smashing Rosenborg 5-0 in Trondheim, Norway.
There were goals from the likes of Shea Lacey, Joshua Zirkzee, Harry Amass and Ethan Williams, but it was the third goal of the day, scored by Republic of Ireland under-21 International Jacob Devaney, that made history.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who featured last Friday in the defeat to Wrexham in Helsinki, was in the team again in Norway. After impressing in Finland, he was on show once again, getting on the scoresheet after firing in from close range.
Jacob Devaney of Manchester United scores their third goal. Pic: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
The goals, though only in a friendly, were significant as Devaney became the first Irishman in 15 years to score a goal for Manchester United. The last man to do so was Darron Gibson back in 2011.
From a long lineage dating back to the early days of the club, Manchester United have always had a strong Irish contingent in the squad, but as the fortunes of Irish football have gone down, so has the number of Irish players in United’s first-team squad.
Devaney is one of several academy players Michael Carrick has used this pre-season as a number of senior players begin to return from the World Cup. Speaking afterward to MUTV, Carrick said he was impressed with the youngsters. ‘That’s the best place to be as a footballer, when you’re in that zone, and you’re confident, and that’s my job to try and get the players in that frame of mind.’
Jacob Devaney of Man United. Pic: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
‘The senior players at this stage, they’re finding their way, but you can see they’re in a good place and kind of getting used to having good results over a period of time, which is good.
‘The young players who came on in the second half were fantastic. They played together, showed real quality and fully deserved their reward.
‘The younger players, when you see them expressing themselves and being themselves and keep pushing themselves to be better, I think some of the play in the second half was really, really good, and I was delighted to see that from them.’
Jacob Devaney of Man United celebrates scoring their third goal. Pic: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
He continued: ‘They’ve all got potential in different ways, and you want them to fulfil it and keep pushing themselves, and they certainly did that.’
Manchester United continue their European pre-season tour in Solna, Sweden, where they take on Atletico Madrid on August 1, before facing Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg.
Then comes the big one for Irish fans on August 12 as Manchester United come to Dublin to take on Leeds United at the historic Croke Park. Their final pre-season game then will be against AC Milan on August 15 in Wroclaw, Poland, before the Premier League season gets underway.
