Young winger previews Under-19s trip to Hibs and discusses Larne FC loan spell
- Dom Tear part of Young Terriers side for trip to Scotland
- Town U19s face Hibernian on Tuesday 14 May 2019; 12.30pm KO
- Follow updates on @htafcacademy
Dom Tear is delighted to be back in West Yorkshire following a successful loan spell at Northern Irish side Larne FC.
The young winger returned to Dean Whitehead’s Under-19s last week having spent the second half of the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Larne, helping the Club to the Northern Ireland Football League Championship title.
“It feels good to be back,” smiled Dom.
“It’s nice to see all the boys and the coaches again. It’s good to be back in and around it.”
Dom played plenty of football during his spell away and even captained the Inver Reds against Town’s Under-19s at the end of March.
“It was an unbelievable experience for me. I learnt so much in terms of the men’s game really – I didn’t realise how big of a step up it is from Academy football.
“There’s people fighting for their families there so it’s passionate. I’d strongly suggest to fellow players to go out on loan as soon as they can because it’s been an unbelievable learning curve for me.”
The experience was Dom’s first taste of senior football, something that he looked to embrace throughout his time away from PPG Canalside.
“Confidence wise, I feel like I’ve gained a lot from being out there. The main thing is learning to play against men and learning how to adapt to play against them.”
Dom initially joined Town as an Under-14s player and has progressed through the Club’s ranks ever since. He netted a hat-trick for the Academy on his return to West Yorkshire, against Leeds United last week.
“It was good to be back on the pitch with the boys – it was a really good performance. The goals are a nice little bonus, but overall it was a really good result and obviously against Leeds as well it’s nice!”
Town Head Coach Jan Siewert named three Academy graduates in his Premier League squad for Sunday’s draw at Southampton with midfielder Matty Daly featuring from the bench. Demeaco Duhaney and Aaron Rowe were also included the match day squad – it’s something that gives Dom a lot of optimism of a potential First Team berth going forward.
“As soon as he’s (Jan Siewert) come in, you can see that he’s given a lot of young players a chance, he’s pushing a lot of young players to train with the First Team squad.
“There’s always a chance to impress, so it obviously gives yourself that confidence that there’s a chance and when it comes you have to make sure you take it with both hands and do well.”
For now, Dom has his focus firmly set on continuing his progression in Town’s Under-19s by putting in strong performances on the pitch.
The Young Terriers make the trip to Scotland tomorrow to face a Hibernian FC side at the Scottish Club’s training base and it’s another trip that Dom is relishing.
“It’s a really good opportunity to bond with your teammates. It’s a really good challenge to be playing away from home.
“It’s a different test, you’re playing against different type of players, so hopefully it’ll be a good day tomorrow and hopefully we’ll get the win.”
The game gets underway at 12.30pm on Tuesday 14 May 2019 with updates available on Twitter via @htafcacademy.