Goalkeeper Pierce Charles is relishing every second of his rapid rise with club and country

Belfast Telegraph

19 hours ago

Eleven months on, he is number one for the senior Northern Ireland side and Sheffield Wednesday's first choice goalkeeper.
It's been quite a ride for the teenager, who continued his outstanding record at Windsor Park on Tuesday with another international clean sheet in a 1-0 friendly win over Iceland.
In four appearances at the national stadium, the 19-year-old has kept the opposition scoreline blank three times with just one goal conceded in a 1-1 draw versus Switzerland.
'In football, you never know what's around the corner,' said Charles reflecting on the last year.
'Last summer, I wasn't really thinking ahead to playing for the Northern Ireland senior team.
'I was hoping one time in the future, obviously that was my target, but at that time I was just focused on the Under-19s.
'I got the opportunity back in October, thanks to the gaffer (Michael O'Neill), and I feel like I've not looked back since.
'Now I'm just trying to improve my performance every time I come away and take every step as it comes.'
Ahead through a first-half strike from Isaac Price, Northern Ireland went down to 10 men just before the hour when Brodie Spencer was sent off, leading to pressure from Iceland.
'With the 10 men, it showed that we can hold on to a result,' said Charles, younger brother of midfielder Shea.
'Obviously the past few games, (against Denmark and Switzerland) we've gone ahead and then we've thrown it away so to show that we can hold on, especially with 10 men, it's fairly good.
'I was hoping we could do it, and obviously we did so it's good momentum going into the next games and it shows our determination, desire and character, everything that any manager wants to see.
'I think we were a bit disappointed in the first-half because we took a while to get going but to turn it around in the second, to keep the goals out and to keep the clean sheet, it's really positive.'
Charles was a key factor in earning the victory, maintaining his concentration to make a fine save near the end.
'I think it's the most important point for a goalkeeper,' stated Charles.
'The first 15 minutes of the second-half, if you don't have anything to do, you've just got to keep yourself ready, because you never know when their best chance might come, which was at the end, and you've always got to be ready.'
Charles was helped by one goal line clearance from goalscorer Price.
'He seems to love this place, doesn't he? He scores every time he comes here,' said the Owls star post match.
'He's lethal in front of goal, and he showed what he can do in the second half of the season at West Brom as well. He put on really good performances. At Windsor, he's doing it at both ends!'
Quizzed on the World Cup double header in September away to Luxembourg and Germany, Charles added: 'The win fills us with more confidence. It'll be the last memory that we have until September. So, I think everyone will be more positive now, going into September, rather than if we had lost against Iceland for example.
'I can't wait until then and, of course, the Germany game. They're the games that you want to play in since you were a kid. I just can't wait.
'We're young and we take it one step at a time, and obviously going into September, we'll do the most we can. I think we've got to have patience with ourselves as well, because we've got a long way to go to what we hope to achieve, especially in the future.'