With the season now over for all of our Scholarship sides, we review all of the key moments for our U18 and U20 sides.
U18 NIFL
The 2023/24 campaign will be one to remember for Andy Mitchell’s side, winning the Harry Cavan Youth Cup for just the second time in the club’s history.
The achievement also marks the first piece of silverware won by one of our Scholarship sides since the programme launched in partnership with the Steven Gerrard Academy back in 2018.
The side defeated Crusaders in the final by a 2-1 scoreline, thanks to goals from Jack Hastings and Bryce Gray. The team’s journey to lifting the cup saw them overcome Glenavon, Craigavon City, Coleraine, Annagh United and Maiden City.
In the league, the side finished 3rd in the table, behind Cliftonville and Linfield. Andy Mitchell’s side started the season in a strong manner with just one defeat in their opening ten games, showing their quality and potential.
With focus turning to the Harry Cavan Youth Cup as the side reached the latter stages of the competition, the team’s league form suffered in February with three defeats during the month. With mixed results throughout March, the hopes of a title challenge for the side fell away, however the team finished the season strongly, winning six of their last seven games to end the season with 65 points from 30 games.
Throughout the season, opportunities were handed out by Andy Mitchell for PDP players within our academy to make the step up and play at a higher level. Over 20 players were handed an opportunity, with players stepping up from our U14 and U16 sides, showing the pathways that are available for younger players at Inver Park.
U20 NIFL/OLYMPIC
Keith O’Hara’s side finished 5th in the standings in the NIFL Premiership Development League.
With two draws, one win and one defeat in their opening games back in August, as they continued to search for consistency.
The Olympic side enjoyed an impressive run in the Intermediate Cup during the 2023/24 campaign. Their journey in the competition began back in September as they secured a comfortable 4-1 victory over Rathcoole in the First Round. In the Second Round, the side would meet Hanover where they secured another comfortable victory with a 5-2 scoreline. A tough test awaited in the Third Round for the young side as they were drawn to face Crumlin United, away from home. The side put on a brave and battling performance to secure a 1-0 victory and progress to the Last 16 of the competition. The Olympic’s journey in the competition would come to an end at this stage as they came up against high-flying Premier Intermediate side Ballymacash Rangers.
In January, Caolan Donnelly and Odhran McCart, who featured heavily for the Olympic side in the first half of the season, secured loan moves to the NIFL Championship, with Caolan Donnelly joining Ballyclare Comrades and Odhran McCart joining Ards.
Jack Hastings showed prolific goalscoring form throughout the season for both our U18 and U20 sides, scoring 36 goals across all competitions. This run of form throughout the campaign saw Hastings called up to the first-team for their final Sports Direct Premiership game against Coleraine, where the young striker made his league debut for Tiernan Lynch’s side alongside Logan Graham who made his first-team debut. Jude O’Hara, Jay Patterson, Logan Graham and Bryce Gray amongst others also endured strong campaigns in which they produced consistently strong performances for Keith O’Hara’s side.
James Simpson enjoyed a great first-year on the Scholarship Programme since joining from Linfield last July. The young defender has shown his ability and quality with some fantastic performances across the U20 and U18 NIFL sides throughout the campaign. The 16-year-old also made his first-team debut in the 6th Round of the Irish Cup as Tiernan Lynch’s side defeated Glenavon 5-0 at Inver Park.
U18 National League
The third team within our Scholarship Programme is an under-18 side who compete in the National League.
In the Prelim Round for the 2023/24 campaign, the side finished 6th in the standings with 23 points after 14 games which secured qualification for the Premier Division for the rest of the season.
The young side showed their competitive edge in the Premier Division as they came up against some strong sides. The team would eventually finish 3rd in the standings after eight games picking up 13 points with three wins, four draws and just one defeat.
INTERNATIONAL HONOURS
Throughout the campaign, many of our Scholarship players received call-ups to represent their country at various age groups.
Jack Hastings and Logan Graham were part of the NI Schools FA U18 squad for the Centenary Shield campaign which would see them come up against England, Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland. Both players would go on to play a huge role in the side as they went on to win the competition undefeated throughout.
James Simpson received a call-up to the Northern Ireland U17 squad back in March. The side took on England, France and Hungary in Euro 2024 Elite Round qualifiers. The 16-year-old defender started the game against a strong England side at St George’s Park and after taking an early lead, the side eventually fell to a 5-1 defeat.
Simpson started on the bench for the games against France and Hungary, and while he did not feature during the 5-2 defeat to France, the defender came on in the second half against Hungary as the side ended the international break with a 3-1 victory.
Kye Livingstone was called up to the Gibraltar U21 squad back in March as they continued their UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, with games against North Macedonia and Georgia.
The 21-year-old winger started both games for his country, with the team putting in competitive performances against both sides. Unable to pick up any points in the end, his side lost narrowly in both games, 1-0 versus North Macedonia and 2-0 versus Georgia.
