TEEN ELDING BRINGS FORWARD POTENTIAL
SLIGO Rovers U-19 star Owen
Elding has signed his first professional contract with the club.
Elding put pen to paper on the deal on Friday last becoming fifth academy graduate in the current first team squad, joining well-established players Niall Morahan, John Mahon, Conor Walsh and Kailin Barlow who all followed the same path.
Owen Elding is the second generation of his family to represent the Bit O’Red – his father, of course, being Anthony Elding who had two spells at the club in 2013 and 2015 and has made Sligo his and his family’s home for the last decade. On signing for what has very much been his local club for most of his life, the Coola Post Primary School student said: “It is a proud day for me and my family. “I always had that vision in my head of playing first team football and delighted it is happening now. I made four appearances last year and I hope now I can really push on in 2024 because I have worked my whole life here.”
As a frequent goalscorer in the academy, Owen is well aware that comparisons with his father are always going to be inevitable, but he explained how his dad has been the perfect mentor to prepare him for the career in football he has always wanted.
“It is always good to have someone in your family that did the same as what you are doing so its great to follow in those footsteps. I was in the Aviva Stadium the day he scored the winner in the [FAI Cup] final 10 years ago and I would love to go on and do something like that myself
“Outside of that he has been great to have as someone who’s lived the experience that can tell you the
‘dos and don’ts’ of being a player and how to apply myself as best as I can.”
Despite his prolific goalscoring ability, Owen is not a natural forward like his father. He is a technically gifted winger first and foremost but his game has been adapted to also play up front in recent years.
“Growing up I always played on the left wing, I didn’t really have an interest in playing up front but Declan Boyle started playing me up front when I was in the Emerging Talent programme because of my ability to score so I have been adapting my game ever since to be able to play up front and on the wing.”
Rovers’ senior men’s team manager John Russell has known Owen for a long time and been well aware of his potential even before he joined the academy. Russell is not surprised that he has progressed all the way to first team football and has both the attitude and ability to go a long way.
“I have known Owen since he came to Sligo when I was the FAI Development Officer for the area.
“His potential stood out from a very young age and he has progressed all the way through to being part of the first team here. He has a great attitude in how he conducts himself whether its on the pitch, in training or just around the ground.
Russell added: “As everyone knows, getting a good goalscorer isn’t easy, but Owen’s positional awareness is very good, it has shown with the amont of goals he has scored in the academy. We feel now is the right to time to develop him as a recognised first team player.”