Hard work pays off as Keeley earns Ireland call up

BRENDAN GRAHAM

Dunboyne's Josh Keeley says his first competitive senior international call up for the Republic of Ireland for Thursday's long awaited World Cup play-ioff semi-final against the Czech Republic in Prague is his proudest achievement to date.

The 22-year-old Luton Town goalkeeper is living the dream as a young professional footballer in England and puts a lot of it down to hard work and staying focussed.

Keeley was part of a very successful underage group at St Patrick's Athletic winning leagues with their u-15, u-17 and u-19 groups and wasn’t long with the senior side before Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur came calling.

Having played a number of games between the sticks for the London club’s u-21’s he enjoyed very successful loan spells with Barnet and Leyton Orient before signing permanently with Luton Town where his success and impressive performances have continued.

This is a really special week for the Dunboyne man and when asked what advice he would give to young Meath kids he put it down to never giving up and working extremely hard.

“Never stop working on achieving your dreams is what I would say to be honest. Hopefully this is only the start for me but it’s not too long ago that I was winning underage trophies with St Pat's in the League of Ireland and since then an incredible amount of hard work has got me to this incredible moment.

“There were times when I was 15 or 16 where I was told I wasn’t good enough. There were teams that I couldn’t get into and teams that didn’t want to sign me at times but I never let that stop me.

“I actually had to take a step back for a year when I went down to Shelbourne Major and that ended up being a really important stepping stone in my career. It was a tough time but taking a step back to go forward wasn’t a bad thing after all and it’s something I really appreciate now.”

From play-off penalty save heroics to scoring a stoppage time winner in the FA Cup, there have been some unforgettable memories and really big moments in the young Meath man’s fledgling career to date.

He admits though that this week’s call up is the proudest and biggest moment of them all to date. A first competitive senior international involvement for one of the most important matches in years for the Ireland soccer team against Czech Republic on Thursday evening.

“I got called up in June for friendlies but to now be looking forward to being involved with the squad for one of the biggest soccer games in the country's history is an absolute honour and one I’ve dreamt about for some time," said Keeley.

“I’m just over the moon and so incredibly proud and excited. I was actually out on the golf course when I got the news and found out. I was standing at the tee box and was checking my phone and in came a text message to say that I’ve been called up to the squad.

“Honestly that moment was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. That moment of reading the message, the immediate excitement and then the realisation of what’s to come in the coming weeks, I’m so proud.”

Form and big moments in recent years for Keeley has now deservedly resulted in a first competitive senior Ireland call up from Heimir Hallgrimsson.

“I knew there was a bit of a chance, I’ve seen bits and pieces across the media in recent weeks and months and with injuries here and there I was thinking it might happen, it might not.

I was keeping myself humble about everything and thinking if it happens it happens and if not I’ll continue to put the head down and work hard anyway.”

Keeley was called up to the squad last year by Heimir for friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg so he has had a taste of the senior set up before but with such strong competition for places in the Irish goal at the moment he knew if he wanted to continue in Heimir’s thoughts he would have to continue to work hard and not get carried away.

Credit to the Meath native he has done exactly that since those call ups and puts a lot of that down to his family who keep his feet on the ground.

Big decisions came last summer including a permanent move from Spurs to Luton Town, where his impressive displays have continued.

At such a young age it has meant a lot for Keeley to have his family to lean on in these moments who have his best interests at heart.

Josh’s dad Brendan Keeley also plied his trade as a goalkeeper with Newry Town among other clubs, while his older brother Conor is the current Drogheda United captain in the League of Ireland so he has plenty of football people to turn towards for advice and support when it comes to the game.

“My family keep me grounded and it’s fantastic to have that. My dad said to me yesterday ‘you’ve got to focus on Saturday first because you’ve got a big game for your club and then start focussing on the call up and getting into camp'.

“My whole family have been a hugely positive influence on me getting to this moment and achieving this milestone in my career. They deserve a hell of a lot of credit for what they’ve all done. I like reflecting with them when these moments come along because they’ve been central to this journey more than anyone else so far and will continue to be.

“They were over the moon, amazed and just couldn’t believe it when I shared the news with them. I think Conor might have a game himself so he won’t be able to get to Prague but I think my dad might try and head over alright.”

A hugely positive week for a special talent between the nets and hopefully a name we will continue to read a lot about in the sports pages for years to come.