'Exciting' Sunderland youngster praised after winning debut for loan club
A Sunderland youngster made a successful start to his loan spell with South Shields on Saturday.
Sunderland youngster Rhys Walsh has been praised for his attitude during a successful debut for South Shields after the winger joined the National League North club on Friday.
The Northern Ireland Under-21 international joined the Black Cats from Glentoran in January last year and featured for Sunderland’s Premier League 2 and Under-18s sides throughout last season. However, his first taste of senior football has come via the first appearance of a 28-day loan with South Shields after an agreement was struck between the two clubs last week.
Walsh was handed an immediate debut in Saturday’s visit to National League North rivals Leamington and he produced a hardworking display as goals from Paul Blackett and former Notts County striker Cedwyn Scott helped the Mariners to a 2-0 win. Speaking after the game, Mariners boss Ian Watson admitted Walsh produced ‘some really good moments’ during the victory and praised the Black Cats youngster for helping his side emerge from a tough test with all three points.
He told The Echo: “I think today was really good for Rhys. He’s come in from Sunderland where he’s been playing on lovely pitches every week within the academy setup. Today was a tough day in terms of the pitch, the grass was really long so in terms of his attributes, his dribbling and manipulating the ball, it was really tough for him. But he really stuck at it, he worked hard, he had some really good moments on and off the ball and we are really excited to see where he can go during his time with us.”
Development
Walsh could feature in as many as seven further games during his initial loan spell with the Mariners and Sunderland academy manager Robin Nicholls has already explained the stint with the National League North club will be ‘a vital part of his development’.
Speaking after the move was completed, Nicholls told the club website: “This loan move is a fantastic opportunity for Rhys to test himself in a competitive senior environment. It will provide him with the chance to play regular minutes in men’s football, which is a vital part of his development. We are excited to see how he rises to the challenge and the progress he can make in his game during this period. We have had several positive spells for Academy players with Shields over the years, and we hope this will be no different for Rhys.”
Walsh will hope to make his second South Shields appearance in Tuesday night’s visit to Alfreton Town and could make a home debut when the Mariners host Chester at the 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday.
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