U19s: “I Jumped At the Opportunity” – Yoyo After Two-Goal Debut

Two-goal hero Yoyo Mahdy says he “jumped at the opportunity” to join Limerick, with the young striker targeting a successful first season at the club having marked his debut with an impressive performance.

The 17-year-old, having joined in the summer from Mervue United, made his bow in Sunday afternoon’s 3-1 win over Cobh Ramblers at Saint Colman’s Park, as last season’s Southern Elite Division champions opened their campaign in eye-catching fashion.

Tommy Barrett’s side had fallen behind to a wonder goal early on, but a first half where Mahdy struck the crossbar twice ended with a clinical brace from the former Mungret Regional man to put Limerick in the driving seat.

Limerick closed the game out comfortably after the break, and speaking after a pleasing first outing, Mahdy revealed it was an easy decision to join the Shannonsiders.

“Tommy invited me down and I jumped at the opportunity straight away,” Yoyo told LimerickFC.ie.

“It was obviously going to be a big step from Mervue but I thought I settled in well. I knew all the lads from last year because I was in on trial so I was happy with that.

“It has been good. We had a lot of pre-season games and training and stuff. I’m friends with a few of the lads outside of football as well. It’s a good bunch of lads.

“The aim is to hopefully break into the first team or get on the Ireland Under-18 team, score as much as I can and hopefully we can win the league in the end, just like the boys did last year.”

On a goals target for the short campaign, Mahdy added: “Well, last year I got 13 so hopefully I’ll be able to beat that or maybe average a goal a game. That would be the target for this season.”

In a strong lineup which contained the likes of Paudie O’Connor, Val Feeney, Ross Mann and Seán McSweeney, Limerick made a solid start and could have been in a much more commanding position at half-time.

“I thought the whole team played well and we were able to move the ball quickly around,” Yoyo said. “We were unlucky to concede at the start but we turned it around, so I was happy with that.

“At the start, we hit the bar a few times and I missed a big chance as well so I thought it could have been one of those days where just nothing goes right. I was happy to get my first goal and then the second straight after that.

“It turned the game around. The first one, I took it past the centre-back and finished it into the bottom corner, and then the other one Ross was unlucky with a shot and it deflected into my path so I finished that.

“They had a chance early in the second half so we were kind of rattled by that. But then we made a few changes, we got comfortable and we got the third goal (from Declan Cusack) which was deserved I thought, and we could have had a fourth as well.”

Mahdy also admitted that last season’s experience with Mervue gave him a good base in the Under-19 League.

“It got me used to how to play in the league,” he said. “It got me up to the standard and I was able to score a few goals last season too. I know my way around the pitches now and all the teams.”

Limerick now have a quick turnaround as they welcome Waterford United – who they pipped to the title last term – to Hogan Park on Wednesday evening (kick-off 6.30pm), before facing Wexford Youths next weekend in a hectic first week.

“We know that Waterford are a tough side, from last year, so we’ll need to be well organised,” Yoyo said, “and take any chances that we get because it won’t be an easy game.

“We’ve all gotten really fit over the summer, doing a lot of training and a lot of running. We should be able to able to cope with the three games and hopefully get three good results.”