Bannsiders land Matthew Kirk

COLERAINE FC is delighted to announce the signing of highly-rated midfielder Matthew Kirk…

Oran Kearney has spoken of his delight after completing a deal to land Matthew Kirk.

The 18-year-old has joined the Bannsiders on a two-year deal and becomes the fourth summer arrival at The Showgrounds.

The Northern Ireland schoolboy international has been on trial with the club for a number of weeks after being watched closely last season at Newbuildings United.

“We have monitoring Matthew’s progress since September last year,” Kearney said.

“We threw him at the deep end last weekend against Bangor City to see how he would react and I thought he done fantastically well.

“He performed well for Northern Ireland’s under 18 squad in the Centenary Shield and has been called-up to the under 19 squad.

Kirk, who hails from Campsie, will compete with Ciaron Harkin, Brad Lyons and David Kee for a starting role in the Bannsiders midfield, and Kearney believes he has the ability to force his way into the side.

“He plays a similar style of football to Ciaron Harkin and Brad Lyons and covers a lot of ground as well,” Kearney revealed.

“He is a couple of years younger than those two but has similar qualities and can develop even further.

“It is great to know that if Ciaron or Brad is unavailable, then we have a like for like replacement.

“It is important that we just don’t look at the present, but also to the future and we believe that Matthew will be able to play a big role here.”

The Club can confirm that Kirk will wear the number 17 shirt next season.