Five Fleetwood Town players have been involved with the Northern Ireland Under-21s international camp during the last week, as they played two of their 2023 Euro qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia.
The Development Squad players deemed the ‘Fleetwood Five’ made their way back home to Northern Ireland on Sunday 29 August to start training with their Under-21s team, which is coached by John Schofield.
The international youth setup had two Euro qualifiers with the first one being an away clash against Malta on Friday 3 September, and the second which was in Northern Ireland against Slovakia on Tuesday 7 September.
In the first outing, Barry Baggley (11 on image below) and Carl Johnston (18 on image below) made the starting XI with both of them playing well for the time they were on the pitch, with Chris Conn-Clarke and Paddy Lane coming off the bench later in the game at the Ta’Qali Centenary Stadium in Attard.
Lane (21 on image below) scored the only NI goal of the game as he produced a superb run, leaving several defenders in his wake, before rifling the ball into the net from the edge of the area.
In the second game, which was a 1-0 win against Slovakia. Lane and Conn-Clarke started this game, with officials from Northern Ireland stating that the latter was an outstanding performer on the night. Johnston came on late in the game, replacing Conn-Clarke with five minutes to go.
Dylan Boyle (right on image below) trained with the side ahead of both games, and attended the international camp, but was not named in either match day squad.
A note on the other international call-ups that the Cods had in the last couple of weeks is James Hill, who joined up with the England Under-20 setup in Burton Upon Trent and trained with the side until their solo clash of the camp, which took place on Monday against Romania, where he came off the bench to make his debut.
Everyone from the club would like to congratulate all six of the players on being chosen for their respected nations – well done to all involved!