THE MONS TAKE ON THE WOLVES

The prestigious homecoming beckons for former Monaghan United goalkeeper Aaron McCarey when his English Premiership side Wolverhampton Wanderers take the field at Gortakeegan on Tuesday, July 12 next for a high-profile friendly game.
A Wolves selection expected to feature the highly regarded Monaghan teenager in the No 1 jersey of the Midlands club he signed for last year will take on Roddy Collins’ side as part of their boss Mick McCarthy’s preparations for the kick-off of the new Premiership campaign in August.
The intensity of interest the fixture is likely to generate among the county’s soccer-following fraternity resides in part in the opportunity to watch one of top tier sides of the English game in action – but the McCarey ‘homecoming’ lends increased allure.
Wolves preserved their Premiership status by a hairsbreadth on the last day of the 2010/11 season but during the campaign that proceeded that death-or-glory Sunday took the scalps of some of the division’s heaviest hitters, Champions Manchester United and runners-up Chelsea included.
Manager Mick McCarthy will be hoping for a much more consistent campaign when Premiership hostilities resume for his side with a tough fixture against Blackburn Rovers – the side against whom they secured their survival.
Wolves might not be the most widely supported club among Irish soccer fans but they are arguably one of the most closely watched given the large contingent of Republic of Ireland internationals in their ranks.
Just how many, or any, of Stephen Ward, Stephen Hunt, Andy Keogh, Kevin Foley and Kevin Doyle will be part of the squad that visits Gortakeegan is uncertain at this point – McCarthy may use the fixture to showcase some of the less-established names in his first team squad, which might mean a chance to see the very promising young Irish full-back Matt Doherty, whom McCarthy plucked from the development ranks of Bohemians and who made his debut earlier this year. But the friendly should certainly see an appearance by Aaron McCarey, now officially part of the Wolves first-team squad (No. 46) and fourth choice goalkeeper behind Welsh international Wayne Hennessy, recently signed Dutch netminder Dorus De Vries (31) and 25-year-old Carl Onora Ikeme, English born but part of Nigeria’s international set-up.
The word from Molineux is that Wolves are extremely happy with the progress of their Monaghan prospect, and Aaron’s standing will have been considerably enhanced by the string of clean sheets he kept to help the Republic of Ireland Under-19 squad qualify for the European Championship finals in Romania.
After the friendly Aaron heads off to participate in the July 20-August 1 finals tournament, making the game the ideal opportunity for local fans to give him a rousing send-off.