'First of many' - Former Irish League youngster praised after netting maiden Tottenham Hotspur goal in Fulham triumph
Having marked his Tottenham Hotspur Under-18 Premier League debut by providing two assists last weekend, former Glentoran youngster George Feeney celebrated yet another significant milestone on Saturday after netting a maiden goal in their 5-1 victory over Fulham.
Feeney is one of many talented youngsters that made a move across the water from Irish League clubs this summer – Linfield quartet Aodhan Doherty (Blackburn Rovers), Braiden Graham (Everton), Scott Hamilton (Nottingham Forest) and Ceadach O’Neill (Arsenal) all earned big transfers alongside Alfie Friars and Sean Corry (both Derby County).
The 16-year-old, who is the son of former Northern Ireland international Warren, made nine Premiership appearances for the Glens last season and scored his maiden senior goal in October’s BetMcLean Cup victory over Premier Intermediate League outfit Dollingstown.
He has represented both Northern Ireland and Wales at underage level – the striker was handed his maiden U17 call-up by Andy Waterworth and made three appearances in U17 qualifiers last year, but has since racked up six U16 friendly outings for the Welsh in 2024, scoring against Japan and Saudi Arabia and captained the team in May’s defeat to Poland.
Feeney netted the final goal for Spurs’ U18 team at Motspur Park to help Stuart Lewis’ side move top of the South table after winning both of their opening two matches, scoring 11 times in the process, and will face Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Southampton in the coming weeks.
“It was excellent to score five goals – that’s 11 in two games now – so Brad (Allen) and I were particularly pleased with that,” Lewis told the club’s website. “It’s testament to the players in the front half of the pitch that we’ve scored a lot of goals, but we’ve also been working hard with our defenders in terms of their concentration with and without the ball.
"It’s always a good test at Fulham but we stood up well to that challenge and produced a really good performance – there were some really pleasing elements to our play and we deserved the three points.
“There’s a lot of competition for places – the lads did well today...you want that competition within the group, so there were a lot of positives for us.”
Feeney received praise on social media, with Spurs fan Josh predicting this goal was the “first of many” while Cillian added that the teenager’s “talent knows no bounds”.
Upon leaving The Oval this summer, a Glentoran spokesperson said on the club’s website: “George is an exceptionally talented centre forward and we are immensely proud he has made the move to Tottenham.
“When George joined the Glentoran Academy at the age of 12 he was always one the most creative and skilful players amongst his peers. He quickly became noticed and successfully stepped up to the senior side because of his incredible skill on the ball and physical abilities.
“The family of Glentoran fans, players, staff and friends wish George all the best as he takes his next steps challenging for a place in the Premier League, the world’s greatest. We will miss you George, we know you can do it!”
Elsewhere, ex-Blues ace O’Neill played 90 minutes as Arsenal’s U18s defeated Chelsea 1-0 while Corry was introduced as a second-half substitute for Derby – as was Hamilton in Forest’s 3-0 triumph over Stoke City.