O’Donnell the big draw as he nets for Heed
GATESHEAD Under-19s secured a 1-1 draw with Shankhouse in the Northern Alliance League’s Premier Division.
The Heed’s only goal of the game came through a familiar face from the first team - JJ O’Donnell.
O’Donnell has not appeared for the first team since December but took the opportunity to rack up some minutes against the Hoose.
He said: “I really enjoyed it. It was just nice to play again as it has been quite a while for me.
“As soon as coach Ben Clark mentioned the game, I asked straight away if I could play.
“It was just the case of playing a game of football.
“I have missed a lot of years so just to play in any game l means a lot to me.”
The midfielder was happy to be on the scoresheet - but the former Luton Town man was even more delighted to have important minutes under his belt.
He added: “It was one of those where I have gone to cross it and it has gone straight in but I suppose it counts for me so I will take it.
“It made for an enjoyable afternoon and to play 90 minutes when you have not played in a long time, it was good for me.”
O’Donnell, being more used to the competitive nature of the National League, admitted he was surprised by the high quality of football in the game but believes playing in a senior league will only help the under-19s develop.
The midfelder said: “The standard was better than I thought it would be.
“I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way to Ben’s team or the league but Shankhouse were not too bad at all.
“It is good for the young boys to play in a senior league against senior players and try and get that toughness and physicality because playing under-19s football going into men’s football is a big difference really. It is something they will benefit greatly from.”
Having come through the youth set-up at Luton Town, O’Donnell knows what it takes to make the step up to the first team and 26-year-old feels like a few of the squad have exactly what it takes.
He admitted: “There are great footballers in the side.
“It will be tough because our level of football is different to what they are playing but if they keep learning and keep trying to improve they have a chance.”
O’Donnell hopes his performance will not have gone unnoticed as he looks at getting back into the Gateshead first team.
The Heed No 14 said: “All I want to do is play football.”