THE SMALL IRISH contingent in this season’s Champions League has just grown significantly with news that Manchester City have called up goalkeeper Ian Lawlor to their squad for tomorrow’s trip to the Czech Republic.
City take on Viktoria Plzen in their opening Group D game and 18-year-old Dublin native Lawlor will travel as third choice behind regular stopper Joe Hart and back-up keeper Costel Pantilimon, according to the Irish Independent.
Having begun his schoolboy career with St Malachy’s, the youngster moved to prestigious DDSL side Home Farm at the age of 11 before being snapped up by Man City in 2010.
Although he spent much of 2012 on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, the 6ft 4in teenager, who is capped for Ireland at U19 level, joined up with the first team for pre-season in Austria and has since become a regular in the NexGen Series.
My ambition for the season is just to keep progressing,” he told the club’s website earlier this year. “Keep my head down and keep doing what I’m doing, pushing the keepers that are ahead of me.”
Although he is unlikely to get any playing time, it will be invaluable experience for the player. With Anthony Stokes acting as the country’s sole representative in the group stages of the competition this season, Ireland badly needs players like Lawlor to come through the ranks.
Watch the full Manchester City interview below:
YouTube credit: mcfcofficial
