'It couldn’t have gone any better' - Magherafelt's Aaron Donnelly revels in super Saturday

AS Saturdays go, the one just past will take a bit of beating for Aaron Donnelly.

On loan at League One outfit Port Vale from Nottingham Forest since January, the Magherafelt teenager has grown in confidence and stature with each game.

However, having lost four of their previous five, the Valiants were in need of a kick-start when MK Dons came to Vale Park at the weekend. Hovering around mid-table, supporters were beginning to look over their shoulders.

“We had actually put in good performances against Bolton and Morecambe away, we dominated both games but didn’t get anything out of them,” said the 19-year-old centre-back, “sometimes you need to find a way to just win games even when you’re not playing well.”

England midfield role has been year in the planning, says Trent Alexander-Arnold

On Saturday, they did just that.

And with 22 minutes gone it was Donnelly who found himself in the right place at the right time to expertly divert David Worrall's shot into the net - the winning goal, the first of his fledgling career, and a critical intervention that sends Vale into tomorrow’s clash with Scott Brown’s Fleetwood Town on a high.

“David hit it first time on the volley, I didn’t actually see it coming… it came so fast, I just managed to adjust my feet and swing my right foot at it – thankfully it ended up in the bottom corner.

“To be honest I didn’t even know what to do. I don’t score many goals, a few of the boys were saying to me after I need to work on my celebration… I was just over the moon to see the ball hit the back of the net, and to go over and celebrate with the fans because they’ve been excellent for us.

“We haven’t been going through a very good phase but they stuck by us and thankfully it paid off.”

It got even better too.

Knowing Derry were throwing in against Dublin at 5pm, friend Ryan Lennox – over for the weekend - had urged Donnelly to get ready quickly after the game so they could catch some of the action from Celtic Park.

Having played the whole way up with O’Donovan Rossa before leaving for Nottingham a few weeks after his 16th birthday, and still in regular contact with the likes of Ethan Doherty, Donnelly has kept a close eye on Rory Gallagher’s Oak Leaf revolution from across the water.

And when Brendan Rogers burst forward to send over the winning score with the last kick of the game, it sparked wild celebrations a few minutes away from the ground.

“Ah it couldn’t have gone any better.

“I rushed out of the changing room after the game, I don’t live too far from Vale Park so we got back in time to watch the second half… it was brilliant. Brendan Rogers was class, and it was another big win for them.

“It just capped the perfect weekend for me.”

Victory, and landing the winning goal, marked another significant step in a career that is gathering pace, with a spot in the Nottingham Forest starting team his long-term goal.

It feels like no time since he headed across the water after catching Forest’s eye playing with Dungannon Swifts. Although he had no involvement in Donnelly’s signing, Martin O’Neill was in charge at the City Ground – though circumstance dictated any dealings with his fellow Derry man were kept to a minimum.

“When I signed he was there and I met him,” recalls Donnelly, “the next day he was sacked.”

Three other managers came and went before the appointment of Steve Cooper in September 2021, with the Welshman bringing Forest from the foot of the Championship to the Premier League for the first time since in 23 years.

“The gaffer’s excellent with us younger boys, always having the craic before training, any time you’re at the club he’s asking how you’re getting on. Then when you’re up with the first team, he really gives you the confidence to go and express yourself.”

Having watched Donnelly with the club’s U23s last year, Cooper felt he would benefit from a year at senior level – that experience has proved invaluable.

“I played 23s football last year, started pretty much all the games and performed really well, so I felt like, speaking to the staff and Steve Cooper, it was the next step in my development.

“It has really benefitted me a lot - it shows me there’s a huge physicality side as well as a football side, which you obviously don’t get at U23s football. You’re playing against men who have been around the leagues, know how to use their body, how to win free-kicks… the first couple of games you’re just really getting a feeling for it, and it is a shock.

“Now that I’ve grown into it I’m really starting to enjoy it, and knowing what way to approach games. For me it’s just about getting as much first team football as possible.

“It’s a big step, and hopefully I come back much stronger and more intelligent trying to push for a place in Forest’s first team. That’s where I want to be.”

Forest have acquitted themselves well during their first season back in the big time, currently sitting in 14th place. And, despite making a host of signings last summer, Donnelly is confident that Cooper has faith in the club’s academy too.

“Patience is the most important thing,” he said.

“Obviously a lot of people were talking about Forest’s signings, but you have to remember last season when they were promoted, there was a lot of loan players who weren’t there permanently.

“I was away with them in pre-season and thankfully got to make my debut against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup [last August] as well - you just have to show them what you can do when you get your chance. You’re always trying to impress.”

That ambition extends to the international arena too. Donnelly wasn’t included in Michael O’Neill’s first Northern Ireland squad since returning to the job, but is sure to be on his radar in the months ahead.

“Being called up for Northern Ireland would be a dream,” he said, “to get that first cap would be unbelievable, but I’ll just stay patient and see what happens. Hopefully it can come some day.

“There is a bit of buzz now that Michael O’Neill’s back, and it’s really good to see. Hopefully moving forward I can be involved in it.”