“We’re a bit lacking in quality in attack”, is how I remember Martin O’Neill understanding the problem wonderfully, after a fourth game in a row without a goal in the final throes of his tenure as manager of the Republic of France. ‘Ireland.
The man who began his reign as the nation’s top goalscorer – although not at his peak – could not be questioned for looking high and low for another Robbie Keane.
The truth, however, was that none of the many he auditioned could even match the Dubliner’s tumbling goal celebration, let alone the craftsmanship that led to it.
That’s why there’s so much excitement in Irish neighborhoods about Evan Ferguson.
Callum O’Dowda scored the opener against Latvia
Not that he’s the new Robbie Keane – that’s a heavy coat to put on any Irish striker, let alone an 18-year-old with just five Premier League starts – but that finally they seem to have found someone who has the potential to be a surpass what we have seen at the Aviva stadium in recent years.
Ferguson’s goal against Latvia this week on his first international start made him the second-youngest player to score for Ireland.
Evan Ferguson celebrates his team’s second goal
You only have one guess as to who is first. Afterwards, still holding his number 19 jersey which he would give to his parents, we asked him how he was coping with the expectation and hype surrounding him at the moment. “It’s just a football match,” he smiles.
His father Barry had a long career in the League of Ireland and a brief one in England, where he started at Coventry City. In 2019 he was a dad who nervously watched his 14-year-old son play a senior debut for Bohemians against Cesar Azpilicueta and Pedro as Frank Lampard’s Chelsea came to Dublin for a friendly.
Brighton shrewdly dampened the noise by taking Ferguson to England in January 2021, with Liverpool among those also interested.
On the south coast it was a home away from home as Ferguson received an Irish welcome from senior pro Shane Duffy, as well as youngsters Aaron Connelly and Jayson Molumby who would go on to play alongside Duffy at international level.
Connolly’s trajectory is a reminder that bursting onto the scene as a teenage striker in the Premier League does not guarantee a straight line to the top.
A Carabao Cup goal and first cap minutes from the bench for Ireland in November continued Ferguson’s progress, but few outside club and country knew too much about the mature, polished teenager.
All that changed in less than three months, however, with Premier League goals against Arsenal and Everton scoring in elegant FA Cup finishes last Sunday that helped Brighton progress to a semi-final at Wembley.
Ferguson shows his joy of scoring for his country
His composure in front of goal isn’t the only thing giving him a potentially high ceiling. Brighton foster manager Roberto De Zerbi was delighted with the youngster’s ability to be “a midfielder away from goal and a striker in the last 20 yards”. One of the game’s greatest goalscorers, Gary Lineker, said: “I see a real centre-forward in front of my eyes.”
The pride of the Irish towards this prodigious young talent is evident. It’s been a long time since their players have shaped the narratives of the Premier League. So long you could argue that Roy Keane is still the most talked about player in the country – that’s the coverage he keeps getting seemingly every time he speaks. He retired from the game in 2006.
Poor Evan is the teenager who must fill the voids left by two Keanes.
But the early signs are wonderfully exciting. Monday night against France will tell us more.