O’hara: It was my destiny!
KIERAN O’HARA knew he was destined to declare for Ireland once under-21 boss Noel King spotted his name on a teamsheet. The Manchester United goalkeeper, who travelled with Jose Mourinho’s firstteam squad to Russia earlier this month for the Europa League tie against Rostov, is set to make his international debut against Kosovo on Saturday at Tallaght Stadium (1pm). King’s crew begin their tilt at reaching the 2019 European Championships with a new-look team, including the 20-year-old Stretford-born stopper. O’hara has been fasttracked into becoming thirdchoice at United after Sam Johnstone was loaned to Aston Villa and Joel Pereira suffered a knee injury to rule him out for the season. It means the rookie is getting regular exposure to training with the firstteam when he’s not lining out for Nicky Butt’s under-23 reserve side. Last season he came to the attention of King when featuring on loan at League Two outfit Morecambe. “Just seeing my name would have been an indication to Noel that I qualified for Ireland,” admitted O’hara. “It’s a giveaway. My grandparents on my Dad Frank’s side are from Galway, so there was always a possibility of declaring if I was asked. “Noel King spoke to the the Morecambe manager and I was delighted to accept the call. Now I just want to get started by making my debut.” O’hara was initially integrated into the set-up for last September’s doubleheader against Serbia and Slovenia when he younger than most of his under-21 teammates. He then played a couple of training matches in La Manga during November and is jostling with Belgian-based Anderlecht stopper Liam Bossin to be chosen as King’s No 1 for the campaign.