WITH first-team debuts and double league success, May certainly proved an exciting month in the Academy.
In the latest instalment of Academy Monthly, we reflect on recent developments inside the club’s youth ranks.
There is no better place to begin than at the top of the tree as the Academy celebrated two first-team debuts on the final day of the season when midfielder Aiden McCallion and full-back Ashton Scally made substitute appearances in the Gers' 5-2 win away to Falkirk.
They were joined on the pitch by winger Zebedee Lawson, making his Scottish Premiership bow after debuting for the first-team in cup action against Annan Athletic earlier this year.
It was even more special for the trio as just 24 hours earlier they had helped the Under-19s lift the league championship with a dramatic final day victory over St. Mirren.
Lawson was the man of the hour as it was his free-kick in the dying embers which delivered the title in Paisley, adding to his equally as sumptuous long-range strike in the first-half.
In doing so, the Under-19s secured qualification to the prestigious UEFA Youth League.
Detailing a whirlwind 24 hours, McCallion, who captain’s Malky Thomson’s Under-19s side, said at full-time in Falkirk: “It was probably a dream 24 hours.
“Lifting the league in the last minute when we scored and obviously captaining the boys to a league title was a real big thing for us this year, and then moving on, it is a dream for me to play with Rangers.
“I have been here since I was seven, so I was really buzzing to get on.”
Battling with eventual runners up Hibernian, the young Gers required a perfect end to the campaign and duly delivered with three successive victories in the month of May.
Celtic were vanquished in a home Old Firm before away victories over Dundee United and St. Mirren delivered the ultimate collective prize at Under-19s level.
“There was a lot of pressure on the game, and I don’t think we played particularly well, but there were a lot of nerves involved in it,” head coach Thomson said after lifting the league crown.
“They’ve now experienced that, and it’s another bit they can put into their armoury in terms of developing themselves as players.”
Later in the same evening, the Under-17s lifted their own league championship in front of family and friends at Ibrox, secured earlier in the month with an 8-1 away win at Kilmarnock.
They took care of business against Hibernian on the night, earned through goals from Coben Fergusson, Ruaridh Hall and Kyle Glasgow.
With the Under-19s squad also in attendance – and several players who featured earlier in the day against St. Mirren doing likewise in the evening – it was a nice moment when both captains lifted their respective trophies on the Ibrox pitch at the same time.
The following week, the Under-19s capped off the season by competing in the annual Hong Kong Soccer Sevens tournament in the far-east.
They reached the final of the Main Shield but fell to West Ham United in a penalty shootout.
Occurring simultaneously was the Under-17s’ participation in the Festival d’Armor, taking place in Brest, France.
The tournament attracted several of France’s heavyweight clubs, including European champions PSG.
Earlier in the month, many of the Academy’s loan players wrapped up their respective campaigns in the Scottish lower leagues.
Paul Nsio was recognised for an impressive individual campaign at Raith Rovers by scooping four prizes at the club’s end-of-season awards ceremony.
He was voted Young Player of the Year and Supporters' Bus Player of the Year, while his display against Airdrieonians in a 3-1 win in March earned him the Best Individual Performance award.
He also received the Malcolm Szpera Award as recognition of his growth both on and off the pitch.
Elsewhere, Calum Adamson, Lewis Stewart and Callum Burnside only narrowly missed out on promotion to the Scottish Championship with Alloa Athletic as they tasted a narrow aggregate defeat to Stenhousemuir.
Adamson struck against Airdrieonians late in the second leg to secure their final berth, while Stewart’s impressive display in the second leg final earned him a spot in the SPFL Team of the Week.
18-year-old midfielder Adamson spoke recently to the Rangers Youth Development Company (RYDC) about his experience at the Clackmannanshire outfit, saying: “The loan to Alloa was everything I could have asked for.
“It was the experience I wanted, and I definitely benefited from playing competitive men’s football. I wanted to go out and help the team win challenging games, and it was definitely a massive step in the right direction for me.”
At the opposite end of the League One table it was Zander Hutton who played a prominent role in Hamilton Academical preserving their status in the division with victories over Forfar Athletic and Clyde.
International selection also called for both Burnside and Mason Munn with Northern Ireland Under-21s, while the Academy was heavily represented in the Scotland Under-15s squad in Ollie Johnston, Nathan Brown, Kai Urban, Ollie Masterton and Cody Mensing who represented their country in the Torneo Delle Nazioni in Italy.
In the meantime, our own Under-15s group travelled to Denmark to compete in the Norhalne Elite Cup, producing an impressive run to the final where they defeated Wolves along the way.
For the Under-12s, they travelled to the Netherlands to participate in the Arc Heitinga Tournament before competing in the Burnley International Cup, while our Under-11s pitted their wits in Oldenzaal Quick 20.
The end of the season also provided an opportunity for several of our younger age groups and READY Centres to showcase their talent on the Ibrox surface before its summer renovations commenced.
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