Talented Coalisland 18 year-old makes professional soccer debut

The 18 year-old midfielder, who plays for Northern Ireland youth, was unable to help his team beat Hamilton and the game ended in a draw. However, he said he was extremely grateful for all the messages of support that have flooded in on social media.

Motherwell under 20s boss, Stephen Craigan was full of praise for the talented Shea, who once played for Dungannon youth.

“He has shown up exceptionally well in training and he’s the type of lad who has ambitions of getting into the first-team straight away.

“Shea is a lad we know well. He’s captained the Sheffield United youth teams and has International experience will be valuable to our squad.”

Congratulations also came from his old Dungannon club, who posted: “A boy who has stuck at it and worked very hard is finally reaping the deserved rewards. Well done from all your friends and family at DSFC Shea.”

The former St Patrick’s Academy pupil and captain of the Northern Ireland under 17s will look to build on his performance and get more first team action in the coming weeks.