AN appearance at the home of English football may be a few years away for the town’s main football club, but two of Warrington’s young footballers had a successful outing at Wembley over the weekend.
Goalkeeper Adam Davies and midfielder Josh Brownhill, who both grew up and went to school in the town, started in a Barnsley side that saw off Oxford United in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final on Sunday.
Former Great Sankey High School pupil Davies, who was born in Germany and won the Warrington Sports Personality award for under 16s in 2007, conceded the first goal of the game to Oxford’s Callum O’Dowda but a Che Dunkley own goal, followed by strikes from Ashley Fletcher and Adam Hammill, ensured the 23-year-old was on the winning side despite Danny Hylton’s late reply for Oxford.
FLASHBACK: Adam Davies collecting the Warrington Under 16s Sports Personality of 2007 prize from Warrington Wolves player Matt King, alongside Warrington Guardian editor Nicola Priest, left, and publisher Eleanor Underhill, right.
On-loan Preston midfielder Brownhill, who attended Birchwood Community High School, started in midfield and completed a full 90 minutes in front of a huge crowd of nearly 60,000 at the national stadium.
This is not the first time the 20-year-old has tasted success in the professional arena; he made 18 appearances in a Preston side that won promotion from League One last season, although he did not make it into the squad for the Wembley play-off final win over Swindon Town.
Both players have endured a hard road to regular professional football having been signed and then released by Premier League clubs – Davies by Everton and Brownhill by Manchester United – at an early age.
Davies, who also played rugby league in the same school team as Salford Red Devils and ex-Warrington Wolves player Gareth O'Brien, spent time with Sheffield Wednesday before linking up with Barnsley in 2014, and performances during his debut season cemented his position as the club’s number one.
It led to him being offered a new and improved two-year deal at the club last summer.
Brownhill’s arrival on an initial emergency youth loan has coincided with a huge upturn in form for the Oakwell side, who have gone from relegation candidates to play-off contenders in a matter of months.
His partnership in the centre of the pitch with club captain Conor Hourihane is blossoming, and his maturity on the ball has persuaded the south Yorkshire club to extend his loan deal until the end of the current campaign.
Josh Brownhill defending for Barnsley against Crewe Alexandra this year.
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