GIVEN THE confidence with which he played, it is hard to believe Monday was just Liam Kerrigan’s second Ireland U21 appearance.
In fact, with the exception of school matches, he had not represented Ireland in any age group before his debut against Luxembourg back in October.
And the UCD attacker played like a man eager to make up for lost time, winning the man-of-the-match award amid an eye-catching display.
After a tentative opening and a distinct lack of attacking quality, it was the inexperienced Kerrigan who took the initiative, beating his marker Dorde Saletic and putting in a dangerous cross that did not result in a goal but excited the crowd and created a sense of momentum from which Ireland subsequently built upon.
Later, Kerrigan scored the game’s all-important second goal, producing a deft touch to control Eiran Cashin’s header across goal before finishing coolly from close range.
#IRLU21 2-0 Montenegro - Liam Kerrigan extends Ireland's lead from close range.
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 6, 2022
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“I’m buzzing,” he told reporters after the game. “It’s my second U21 cap and the first goal. I’ll take it.”
Despite impressing in the Luxembourg victory last October, winning a penalty in that game, the Tubbercurry native accepts the need to be patient given the ability of others in the squad.
“With the quality of player there is now, you’re not going to play every minute. There are players who expect to play every game but it was great to get my chance and hopefully they see that I can take it.
“It’s been a busy few weeks. I finished the exams there in the middle of May and I’ve been with UCD since, training away and putting myself in the window to come in here. It is paying off now.”
Kerrigan responded well particularly having been omitted from the squad in the last window for the trip to Sweden.
“Jim rang me and [explained his thinking]. I knew the last camp was a small squad because there was just one game, so I just had to keep doing what I was doing, playing with UCD, even though we are bottom of the table. I just had to keep playing the way I usually play and put myself back in the frame again.”
Along with fellow Ireland U21 international Colm Whelan, who is currently out with a long-term injury, Kerrigan is widely regarded as UCD’s most invaluable asset and a player who could move to a bigger club in the near future.
For now though, in addition to Ireland, his focus has been on the Students’ fight to avoid relegation.
“We knew that it was going to be like that at UCD. We’ve had injuries and some results haven’t gone our way, but we’ll see what happens.
“I suppose this year we are playing against better players every week and full-time teams. The physicality goes up and technically, it all gets better, so you are always going to get better if you are playing that every week. I much prefer it, even if we are bottom of the table.
“The intensity [at international level] goes up another step, I feel. I was blowing a bit towards the end of it, but when you are playing for Ireland you can push through and get a second wind.”
Meanwhile, next week will be a “big” one as far as Kerrigan is concerned for two reasons. He could potentially help Ireland U21s seal a first-ever major tournament qualification if other results go their way and they beat Italy on Tuesday. And three days later, he is due to discover his exam results from the final year of a degree in commerce.
“[To qualify] would be massive,” he adds. “If you told me even at the start of last year, I wouldn’t have thought we would have had this much of a chance to qualify. I suppose we just have to see it through now next week.”
