‘I can’t wait to play at the Carlisle’
HE may not quite have resorted to planes, trains and automobiles but Dan McKenna made sure that nothing would stand in the way of his Bray Wanderers debut on Friday.
The on-loan Wolves man impressed at right-back as the Seagulls picked up a 0-0 draw at Oriel Park but what made his debut all the more impressive is that he missed all tactical briefings about Dundalk owing to the fact that he was in Spain on international duty!
18-year-old McKenna was in action for the Republic of Ireland U-19’s on Tuesday and Thursday of last week but was back on these shores by Thursday evening and declared himself available for selection.
“It was a brilliant week for me personally. I was away with the Ireland U-19’s team in Spain for two friendly games against Romania which both went well. Then I got off the plane at 11 o’clock on Thursday night and straight home to bed for the game the next day against Dundalk.
“I never even got to train with the team during the week but I was chatting to the coaches and I knew how we were going to set out and play.”
Despite his vast experience in England and in the Green jersey, playing in front of a bumper League of Ireland crowd was a new experience for him. He was happy to play his part in quietening them too.
“I loved the atmosphere, the crowd was great. I stopped for a second during the game just to have a look around and take it in. I really enjoyed playing in the game, it did take me 10-15 minutes to settle in to the game and get used to the pace of it but I think I coped really well.
“Absolutely, we were even a little disappointed that we didn’t get all three points. Obviously a point at Oriel Park is brilliant but we had some good chances on the counter where we could’ve nicked it.”
McKenna should have more rest and preparation this week ahead of the visit of St. Patrick’s Athletic. It will be his first time to play at the seaside venue and he’ll be happy to slot in at right-back again if he’s asked.
“I can’t wait to play at the Carlisle Grounds. I went to watch the lads against Pat’s in the Leinster Senior Cup and there wasn’t a massive amount of people at the game but hopefully there will be for this game as it’s the first home game of the season so hopefully they will come up and support us.
“Yeah I was asked to do a job there and I was happy to do it. I have played there a couple of times before with the Ireland team so the position isn’t foreign to me. But yeah if I can get minutes at right full I’ll happily play there.”
The Dubliner is still bedding into life at Co. Wicklow and although Friday’s stalemate against Dundalk surprised many, McKenna knew from what he has seen of his team-mates that they were more than capable of getting a positive result.
“I’ve trained with the lads so I knew how good they were, and I was expecting them to show real quality on the night. I was surprised with all of the good information they fed me with before the game and how comfortable they made me feel, that was really good and assuring for myself playing my first game.”