Dale Gorman during his time with Letterkenny Rovers.
BY CHRIS MCNULTY
LETTERKENNY lad Dale Gorman won his first cap for the Northern Ireland Under-19 team on Tuesday.
Former Letterkenny Rovers youth Gorman, who has recently moved to Stevenage FC in League One, played in a one-all draw with Scotland in Ayr.
Gorman turns 20 in November and has been a member of Rovers teams in the Donegal Youth League, the League of Ireland U19s and has also played in the Ulster Senior League.
A son of former Linfield, Coleraine and Finn Harps midfielder Anthony Gorman, Dale is a highly-rated prospect.
Gorman was one of three local lads to play U19 internationals on Tuesday.
At the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, Ramelton native Kyle Callan-McFadden played the 90 minutes for the Republic of Ireland Under 19s in a narrow 1-0 friendly defeat to Norway. The Norwich City defender is a former Swilly Rovers underage player, who was joined on the pitch for the closing stages by Ryan McConnell, a former Letterkenny Rovers player who is on the books of Manchester United.
Ireland lost by a solitary goal, netted by Morien Strand in the 23rd minute when he connected from close range to a free-kick by Zymer Bytyqi.
Irish sub Jack Byrne forced a top drawer save from keeper Pal Vesily Heigre with a strike from just outside the box in the 80th minute and despite some added pressure from corners in particular the equalizer never came.
“These games are about looking at players in preparation for the UEFA Championships in October and I felt we learned a lot about what these lads are capable of,” said Head Coach Paul Doolin.
“A lot of them are in their first year at this age group and can play again next year so we had a very young squad really. At this age group an extra year can make a difference.”
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