McCoulsky aiming to be a loan star once again
IF SHAWN McCoulsky’s loan at Halifax goes as well as his spell at Newport, The Shaymen are in for a treat.
The striker shot to national fame when he came off the bench to score the winner in the FA Cup third round against Leeds last year, one of 11 goals he netted in 35 appearances that campaign on loan from Bristol City.
“It was a very memorable season,” he recalled. “I scored on my debut, I scored against Leeds, I played against Tottenham.
“Individually the players were good but we knew how to play as a team.
“Our team spirit was so good on and off the pitch. It was like a family, from the manager, the coaching staff, the physios, everyone was together.
“It was my first league loan. I didn’t know too much about the professional game, so it was definitely a great club to start with.”
McCoulsky rose highest from a corner in the 89th minute of Newport’s home tie against Leeds to head home a famous winner and trigger scenes of jubilation at Rodney Parade.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “Sometimes I still think about it. When I’m scrolling through my phone looking for pictures, I’m scroll past that video and I’ll give it a watch again!
“It was a breathtaking moment. I didn’t know what to do with myself, all I could do was just run to the fans and stand up on one of the boards.”
Newport’s reward for that win was a plum tie against Tottenham, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade before winning the replay at Wembley. McCoulsky played in both games.
The 22-year-old started playing with Hillyfielders FC in South East London before moving to Dulwich Hamlet’s academy aged 14.
He broke into their first-team aged 15 and had trials at Millwall and Brentford before signing a professional contract with Bristol City aged 18.
From there, he was loaned to Weston Super Mare, Torquay, Bath and Southend as well as Newport, with varying degrees of success before a permanent move to Forest Green Rovers in January.
This will be his second loan to a National League club this season, after scoring once in four games for Bromley earlier this year.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot to learn but I need to keep progressing and working hard,” he said. “The path to success is always going to be up and down. There’s never a straight road. That’s something I’ve learned from being young, to keep applying myself every day and work hard. Hopefully I’ll get there in the end.”