IRISH TEENAGER BARRY Cotter made his first-team debut for Ipswich Town tonight against Barnsley in the Championship — and impressed.
The 19-year-old defender received a standing ovation as he was substituted in the 56th minute, but well and truly caught the eye during his time on the pitch with fans outraged at his replacement on social media.
The Ennis native made the cross-channel move from Limerick FC and the League of Ireland to Mick McCarthy’s side on deadline day in January.
Cotter, a defender who’s been capped by the Republic of Ireland at U19 level, signed a deal which will see him at the English outfit until the summer of 2021.
Injuries to other defenders Luke Chambers and Adam Webster opened the door for Cotter, after he impressed in training and for the club’s U23 side.
“I think he’s done really well in training,” McCarthy said of the youngster in the pre-match press conference, as per quotes reported by the East Anglican Daily Times.
“He’s done well in games and is certainly physically tough enough, athletic enough and powerful enough to cope with it.”
He started at right-back, and got no shortage of attention as his side won 1-0.
Ipswich Town FC / Twitter
Ipswich Town FC / Twitter / Twitter
📸 | Barry Cotter battles with Adam Hammill down the right as the first-half draws to a close...
— Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) April 10, 2018
How impressed have you been with him so far? #itfc pic.twitter.com/VPIwcC9iaO
I think Gatland is getting his excuses in early
@Siobhan Bradshaw: No, I think he is being very realistic and probably trying to open WRU eyes into how things should be done long term. But what do I know
@Siobhan Bradshaw: In fairness he is the unfortunate victim of the Welsh structure, which is just falling apart at the seams. We don’t get many things right in Ireland, but our rugby structures are the envy of the rugby world.