Another round of League Cup fixtures provided another opportunity to be wildly excited about the future of Irish football. Two weeks after Nathan Collins became the youngest player to ever captain Stoke City, Galway's Aaron Connolly had a night to remember playing for Brighton & Hove Albion.
Last night, the 19-year-old made his first start for Brighton in their League Cup win against Bristol. Connolly rewarded manager Graham Potter by scoring a goal and being named Man of the Match.
The goal was a well-taken, opportunistic strike taken after pouncing on a fluke deflection.
🔥 @AaronConnolly_9 at it again!#BHAFC ⚫️ pic.twitter.com/PogJYk9rQo
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 28, 2019
Proud moment, thanks for all the messages🙌#BHAFC https://t.co/6VWaKUFlG6
— Aaron Connolly (@AaronConnolly_9) August 27, 2019
It was a huge game for Connolly, who has been prolific at U23 level, who scored 31 goals in 43 appearances and was the PL2 Player of the Year last season.
When speaking to the BBC after the match, Potter was highly complementary of the young Galwayman:
"He has got that knack of scoring, which is nice to have. He likes to run in behind and threaten the backline, playing on the shoulder. He's a young lad with a lot to learn of course but he's done really well with us in pre-season."
Hopefully we'll see him named in the Brighton squad to play Man City this weekend.
