Sligo’s Kailin Barlow captains his country

SLIGO native Kailin Barlow was the latest local soccer prospect to captain his country last week when he wore the armband for the Republic of Ireland under 15s’ 2-0 win over Cyrpus at Oriel Park in Dundalk.

The former Merville United youth follows on from Sligo Rovers under 15 team mate and Grange native Seamas Keogh who skippered the Irish under 16s two weeks ago in their friendly against Hungary in Budapest.

Barlow also took part in the second game between the two sides which finished on the same scoreline on Thursday last in Dublin. He was a second half substitute.

In the first game, two second half goals in less than 15 minutes from the boots of Anselmo Garcia-McNulty and Oran Crowe earned Jason Donohue’s charges a deserved victory on their first outing this year.

While Calum Kavanagh and Louie Barry netted late on to win Thursday’s game at the AUL.

Commending his side after Tuesday’s game, a delighted Donohue said he was pleased with how the team coped: “I felt they all performed excellently. At half-time I spoke to the players about being more clinical. We had chances in the first-half but were unable to take them. That improved in the second-half, with the message we gave. The team are delighted with the win.”