Brighton and Hove Albion defender Ruairi McConville made his international debut for Northern Ireland last night (Friday 15 November).
And the teenager is determined to keep himself in Michael O’Neill’s plans after coming on with five minutes of normal time remaining in the 2-0 Nations League win over Belarus.
The Brighton Under-21s defender became the fifth player in the current squad to make his debut this year.
And, like some others in O’Neill’s youthful Northern Ireland team, McConville’s international debut came before he his first taste of senior club football.
The 19-year-old’s delight was obvious after the game. He said: “It’s amazing. No one can really wipe the smile off my face.
“It’s a feeling that will stick with me the rest of my career but hopefully it’s the first of many. I’m going to work hard to get back in the squad and that’s all I can do really.
“I’ve learned so much here and hopefully there’s many more opportunities to come.”
O’Neill was clear that he did not give McConville his debut for the sake of it but because the former Linfield man was needed at that stage of the game.
With Daniel Ballard having been withdrawn to manage his fitness after injury, Northern Ireland were short of height at the back – and 6ft 3in McConville was the man to provide it.
McConville said: “I heard the conversation (the coaches) were having, saying they need a bit of height so as soon as I heard that I was getting excited.
“When they gave me a nod, I didn’t know what to do. I was so excited and then when I stood up I got in the zone.
“There was still a job to be done when I came on and I tried to do that. We were focused on trying to get the clean sheet and to get the result and thankfully we got that.”
McConville was brought into O’Neill’s squad after injuries to Paddy McNair and Eoin Toal – and he has been determined to get everything he can out of the opportunity.
He said: “I’ve learned so much. Even the simple things. There’s so many different sides of the game you learn here with players playing in all different types of leagues so just seeing them, the experience they have.
“You get to see how they play and how they conduct themselves and things I’ll try to take into my game.”
McConville could now be in line for a bigger role in the final Nations League game away to Luxembourg on Monday night – a late yellow card for Ciaron Brown brought a suspension for the Oxford defender.
