Shankill United in safe hands with teenage goalkeeper Matty Tyrie

The emergence of schoolboy goalkeeper Matty Tyrie at Shankill United is a sign the future of the club is in good hands – literally and metaphorically.

That is the view of manager Davy McAlinden who, hit by an injury crisis at The Hammer this season, has been forced into fast-tracking a bunch of promising teenagers into the first team.

Young stopper Tyrie, still just 15, has been turning heads with his performances after his breakthrough over recent weeks but he’s not the only one, with the likes of 17-year-olds David Houston and Jack Anderson impressing to the point they are now first-team regulars.

Harland and Wolff Welders striker thriving amid club's promotion push

McAlinden knows it’s hardly an ideal situation, seeing if these youngsters sink or swim in the unforgiving Premier Division where experience counts for so much.

But having lost a number of key players – both Paul Acheson (achilles) and Curtis Black (ACL) are out for the season, while 2020’s player of the year Phil Gordon and Kyle Dillon have also been sidelined for long spells – the Shankill chief hasn’t had much choice.

“It’s been up and down this season,” McAlinden told Match. “We had our own ambitions and we kept them in-house, but we felt we had a squad to match those ambitions.

“When we have had our squad and players available, we’ve put a run together, we beat East Belfast and won five out of six or something.

“So that’s been the frustrating thing, but you know what, it’s always been the same since we’ve come to the club.

“You can be competitive whenever you’ve all your players available. Whenever you are missing two or three... but the attitude is just that that will create another opportunity for a youngster.

“John (Martin) was suspended yesterday