Wednesday 13 February 2013

Wes Burns a hole in the Ice on debut

It was a proud moment for Barry-born footballer Wes Burns last week, opening the scoring on his debut for Wales under-21s after coming on as a substitute in the 3-0 friendly win over Iceland.

Latching on to a long ball, the 17-year-old showed great composure, and promise for the future, by chipping the onrushing goalkeeper on 78 minutes.

He was one of seven youngsters making their bow at this level during the game, and it completed a manic 12 months for the youngster which has seen him sign his first professional contract at Bristol City, and even make his first team debut.

Proud dad David said it was just another goal achieved in what has been a frantic year for his son, and now the bar has been set higher for 2013. He said: “I went along and the whole family were there. I tend not to miss many games home or away, it’s been like that for about 10 years!

“Everyone around us thought the game was petering out, and with so many substitutes coming on we thought he would come on at some stage. To see him getting stripped and ready, we were nervous but confident.

“The way the game was, he’s so quick we knew he’d have an impact. The game was sort of made for him.

“The goal was classic Wes. He latched on to the long ball and his pace is obvious. For us it was whether he’d get a good first touch, and having seen his first team debut for Bristol City a few weeks earlier we knew he’d cope with the situation. The goal was everything we could have hoped for.”

David believes that Wes is already looking at what he could do next, and that includes impressing new club manager Sean O’Driscoll.

He continued: “We set objectives, and his number one for this year was to secure that pro-contract. To have that confirmed pre-Christmas was a great boost. Next it was if he could train with the first team, make the bench, make an appearance. He’s been ticking them off as he went along.

“Now the goal is to stay around the first team, especially with a new manager in charge. We couldn’t have dreamed this so early on, but now the bar has been set even higher. Now there’s a European Championship qualifier coming up in March and Wes will hope to be selected for that.

“He is also hoping to be involved against Cardiff this Saturday (February 16), but with so many players coming back he’s unsure whether he will. But it’s been made clear to him he has a big future at Bristol City.”

Yet Wes could possibly have been lining up for Cardiff against Bristol this Saturday. Having been born in Barry, he joined Barry Athletic as a seven-year-old. After impressing, Cardiff snapped him up at the age of eight, but at 10 years old, Wes found himself released from the youth set up.

He spent a prolific two years with Llantwit Major, his family having moved to Flemingstone, and at 12 Cardiff came back in for him where he stayed in the Academy until he was 16 before switching to the other side of the Severn Bridge.

Llantwit Major stalwart Coun Gwyn John, who has held various roles with the club since helping to found it, spoke of his pride at seeing another of their youth products reach the higher echelons of the professional game, but also of his frustration that he was unable to be there for Wes’ big moment.

He said: “He did very well. He was 17 in an under-21environment, and many of them had been with professional clubs for a long while. I heard that when he came on he changed the game. He scored, and then Wales went on and opened them up.”

It continues a long production line of Llantwit youth players who have gone on to taste professional or semi-professional football. Former Welsh international Aaron Davies, former Barry, Cardiff and Newport goalkeeper Pat Mountain and former Cardiff and Wrexham defender Lloyd Evans are other examples.

Yet Gwyn believes Wes might be a cut above the rest. He added: “It’s not the first time Llantwit boys have got in to professional clubs. Aaron Davies did particularly well yet wasn’t exceptionally talented as a young boy, but Wes was.

“In some kids you can spot raw talent and coach it, but some have got that talent at a young age. Wes was playing games and averaging five goals as a young child.

“His dad’s been tremendous. David played himself and was a good player so has helped Wes. He was taken to Cardiff, but as he got older his father didn’t think he was getting enough game time so got him in to Bristol.

“If he carries on doing well who’s to say what will happen in the future. The future is at his feet and I was absolutely over the moon for him.”

Burns has made two substitute appearances against Leicester and Blackburn for Bristol since signing his first professional deal.

The Iceland fixture also marked his first international appearance for Wales, having been overlooked at younger age groups.

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