Coben Fergusson Hungry To Make Under-19s Mark

061026 Rangers u19 v Kilmarnock Coben Ferguson
COBEN Fergusson was a key member of the Under-17s league winning side last season, and the winger says he’s hungry to play a consistent role for the Under-19s this time around.

The 16-year-old, who signed his first professional contract earlier this year, scored his first Under-19s goal at the end of last season.

However, the vast majority of his minutes were spent with the Under-17s where he capped off an impressive campaign with a strike against Hibernian at Ibrox on the final day.

He started for the Under-19s in Tuesday’s win over Kilmarnock on league duty in a lineup which included Corey Ngwenya, Luca Rankin and Ruaridh Hall, all born in 2010.

Speaking to the official Rangers website, Fergusson said: “If you look back at the end of the season, these [the Kilmarnock win] are the games you look at that you need to win in terms of the league.

“It was the same last season. We held on to a few big results, both at Under-17s and Under-19s level. 

“With the Under-17s last season, we stormed the first six months and got on really well.

“But with the Under-19s, you saw it was the last day that we won it, so games like these are really important to go in and win.”

Prolific at Under-17s level last season, where he is still eligible to feature this campaign, the winger is sure to be in for a much tougher test as the Under-19s target back-to-back league titles.

 

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Coben Fergusson in action against Hearts Under-19s

 

On the biggest difference between the age groups, he continued: “I'd probably say the tempo and physicality. 

“Against right-backs when I play at Under-17s, I feel like I can get away with more stuff than I do at Under-19s because the boys are smarter, quicker and stronger.

“It’s really good for my development playing against quicker and stronger boys.

“What I want is to be challenged. Games like Tuesday, I love it, playing against boys who are a couple of years older than me.

“I love the challenge, and it's really good. It was great to get a little taster for it, especially coming in full-time this season.

“You want to go and win as much as you can, and games like Tuesday are so important to win. 

"It’s been a really good start to the season, so we need to keep pushing.”

Fergusson’s start on Tuesday evening came off the back of his Scotland Under-17s debut.

Indeed, the 16-year-old was on the scoresheet for his country last month, netting in a memorable comeback draw against Belgium.

He added: “It was a really good challenge playing against different styles of play and the best players from other countries as well.

“It was nice to score against Belgium in the last minute.”