IFA Harry Cavan (U19) Youth Cup final: Cliftonville Strollers v Ballinamallard United U18s (Friday, Windsor Park, 7.45pm)
AS Cliftonville and Ballinamallard United prepare to debate tonight’s Harry Cavan Youth Cup final, Reds youth academy chief Marc Smyth doesn’t disguise the importance of trying to win the coveted silverware, describing the U19 tournament as the “pinnacle of youth football”.
After his playing days ended at Solitude, Smyth took charge of youth development at the north Belfast club and has guided a steady stream of young players through to first team football.
And while he regards feeding the first team with good quality young players as his primary role, the Harry Cavan Youth Cup is a hugely important part of the youth players' football education.
“It’s one of the few times where ‘development’ goes out the window,” Smyth says.
“It’s the one thing that we have learned in this phase where this is about winning. We make it very clear to our players that the development league is there for a reason – this is a trophy you want to win.
“And there might be kids who unfortunately won’t get on in this cup final, there’ll be kids who won’t be in the squad for this cup final – but that’s part of their learning.
“This is the pinnacle of youth football. This is the kind of competition that defines players a little bit. First teamers can’t drop down, it’s a level playing field, it’s the best of the best at U19 and that, for me, judges where you’re at.”
The highly-rated Sean Moore is one of the celebrated examples of young players making the first team breakthrough at Solitude – but Smyth is equally proud to see the likes of Shea Kearney, Orann Donnelly and Jack Berry moving up the ladder too.
“I think we’re seeing the fruits of our labour from years ago whenever we started from the bottom-up," Smyth explained.
"You can see the first five-year-olds we had now coming through at U14 and U15; you’ve got clubs like Man City looking at some of our kids and I feel we’re strong at all age groups.
“But the most important thing for me is Sean Moore playing 30 first team games this season, Orann Donnelly has been on the bench, Shea Kearney and Jack Berry have played first team. I think if you’re realistic, getting one player into the first team every two years is a good achievement because it’s not easy."
The young Reds took the scalps of Ballyclare, Dundela, Glentoran and holders Dungannon Swifts to reach tonight's eagerly awaited decider, while the 'Mallards looked equally impressive in wins over Dungannon Youth, Carrick Rangers and Maiden City among them
“This will be a mixture of players who play U18 and players and who play reserves. I feel we’ve a talented squad. If you look at our squad last year we had four or five players who have since signed professional contracts and therefore can’t play. This is a different group, a younger group but they all want to win the cup as much as Ballinamallard will want to win, so everyone at the club is looking forward to it.”
