Turriff United’s GPH Builders Merchants Aberdeenshire League title success is the latest sign the club is moving in the right direction by focusing on bringing through young talent, according to their development boss.
United’s Under-21s beat Keith 6-1 at Harlaw Park on Wednesday evening to win the Aberdeenshire and District Football Association-run youth league for the first time ever, finishing two points ahead of nearest rivals Formartine United.
Head of youth development Graeme Taylor is a firm believer in Turriff’s strategy of feeding their Highland League team with a conveyor belt of young, local talent.
Taylor thinks there are big positives in young players experiencing first team football early and the club’s U21s have become so strong because many of the players – like Callan Gray – have felt the benefit of already being regulars with Dean Donaldson’s senior side.
Taylor said: “It’s the culmination of a number of years of working away and trying to get a pathway into the first team for young players. I think it’s a really important initiative more clubs should be doing.
“My son, (former Aberdeen academy player) Terry, is the Wales U21s captain, and when I go to watch him playing up close and you see the Swiss, Dutch or Turkish, you can see they’ve got three or four years of playing first team football – way ahead of any player in Scotland, or in England, even.
“It’s important we get young players exposed to the first team.
“The reason we’ve been so competitive this season is most of them are getting blooded in the first team. Ok, we’re not very competitive in the Highland League, but that’ll take time to let these boys come through.
“But we’ve got a very supportive committee who want to see that.”
At Harlaw Park on Wednesday against Keith, Taylor and Reece Cormack’s side – more than half from Turriff or the surrounding area – knew a point would be enough to secure the league crown over Formartine on goal difference, having already beaten their closest rivals 4-1 on Monday.
However, they finished the job in style with a 6-1 victory – including three penalties – against the 10-man Maroons, with top-scorer Rory Brown, Keir Smith (two), Gray, Murray Cormack and Luke Kinsella all on the scoresheet.
A ‘delighted’ Taylor – who also singled long-serving kit-lady Pearl Hendry and over-age player Scott Whelan – out for praise afterwards – said: “The real decider was Monday night, against Formartine.
“They were up there as well, competing for it. That was a tough game and we came through it, eventually, with flying colours.
“If we’d got a point on Wednesday, we would’ve had a superior goal difference to Formartine, but we didn’t really think about drawing the game – it was about winning the game. The boys were perfectly capable of doing that.
“On Monday and Wednesday, I did notice there was a little bit of tension with some players you don’t usually expect and I think the occasion was maybe getting to some younger boys.
“But, by the time we got into the second half and after having them in at half-time and explaining to them – ‘it’s just another game, and you have to stop overthinking it and overplaying’ – suddenly it all clicked again.
“It’s a lovely trophy they win, but as soon as you put any trophy in front of football players – whether it’s a £5 cup from the trophy shop or a big cup like that, it doesn’t matter – they just want to win.
“Sometimes for players that brings an added pressure, and sometimes they thrive.
“But I was delighted they got over the line in the end. It was great.”
