Tiago Navarro, 18, and the next group through

Tiago Navarro joined the academy at 15. At 18 he’s in the first-team squad, and his first senior goal came in August, a 73rd-minute finish against Castlebridge City at Station Ground.

On Tuesday sixty juniors from the under-12s to the under-16s came through the academy speed day, the first of three sessions this autumn. The coaches use the times to plan each player’s winter programme.

“Tiago is proof that the pathway is real,” the academy manager said. “He trained on these pitches on a Tuesday night like the rest of them. The difference is what he did with it.”

Trials for the under-13s and under-14s run in November. Details are on the academy page.