NI juniors are going places

The American dream is alive and kicking for four Northern Ireland U21 players.

Manager Roy Millar confirmed after the comprehensive defeat of Liechtenstein, 4-0 on the night and 8-1 on aggregate, that Dean Shiels, Sammy Clingan, Peter Thompson and Kyle Lafferty would all be stepping up to the seniors.

The quartet will fly out with the rest of the squad a week tomorrow ahead of friendly matches against Uruguay and Romania.

Millar said: “That is what we are here for: to provide players for the senior team.

“It is a nice step up for them. They will have the use of good facilities in the USA.”

It is an extraordinary promotion for Shiels in particular, given that only five months ago he had surgery to remove his right eye.

The Hibs striker only returned to action in the last week but marked an impressive performance against Liechtenstein in this second leg of a European Championship qualifier by finding the target.

Millar said: “Shiels did very well both as a striker and when we moved him into midfield.”

Thompson, of Linfield, took his tally for the season to an astonishing 49 goals while Richard Clarke and Rory McArdle were also on the scoresheet.

The North will now face Romania and Germany in August and September after stretching their unbeaten run to 11 games.

Millar believes they have good reasons to be quietly confident going into the group stages.

He said: “Romania and Germany should be better than us but we will certainly be going into these games with a very competitive attitude.”