Barry Town United’s Mo Touray was the pride of JD Sports Welsh Premier League football when he was sent on for Wales during their 3-1 Uefa Under-21 Championship win against Switzerland.
The match was at Rodney Parade, home of Touray’s parent club Newport County, and the striker was one of two WPL players in the squad.
TNS centre-half Ben Cabango, an 18-year-old currently on loan from Swansea City, joined Touray in the group selected by Wales manager Robert Page.
Gambia-born Touray said: “I’m glad the manager trusted and gave me minutes.
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“I was lying down relaxing on Sunday when I received a message telling me I had been called up. I’m over the moon and hoping for more call-ups in the next campaign.
“My dad, family, friends and agent were able to watch the match against Switzerland and that was great. Hopefully the manager has trust in me and I may get a start in the future.”
Barry manager Gavin Chesterfield is delighted with Touray’s progress and told the Welsh Premier League official website: “Modou has adapted really well to the JD Welsh Premier and the demands on him.
“He’s reaping the benefits now. The same can be said for Ben, who I worked with at Victory Shield level and is another great lad.
“You can see that both are making more educated decisions and they have a hardiness to them that only comes with playing regular senior football.”
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Cabango, 18, played for Maindy Corries in Cardiff before Swansea City snapped him up at the age of 12 and he is now on a six months loan deal with TNS and scored his first senior goal in the Champions League when the Oswestry club defeated Macedonian side Shkendija Tetovo.
“Welsh Premier League is a good stepping stone for Ben, playing senior football and gaining experience what the men’s game is all about.
“It is just good for Ben good for the league because clubs might be looking at Ben now in terms of how he is doing, they are also going to be looking at this league in terms of how it might help the development of their young players.
“The more we can do to provide these opportunities, the better it will be for our league and for Wales.
“I’ve never been afraid to give young players opportunities. Ben has been a real success for us, and I think it can only be a good thing for more young players to come to this league, as they get a real experience of men’s football week in, week out.”
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Touray graduated from the County in the Community futsal team to become a key part of Byron Anthony’s Youth Alliance Merit League-winning under-18 side in 2017.
He had a successful loan spell at Merthyr Town and earned a call up to the Wales under-19s side.
Cabango joined the Swans Academy at the age of 14 and captained Swans Under-19s to a ninth consecutive FAW Youth Cup title last May.
“When the offer came I jumped at the opportunity to go and play men’s football for TNS,” said Cabango.
“I have learned so much in the last four months. The difference from academy and under-23s football to the men’s game is about 70 per cent because of the intensity and competitive nature of the games.
“The chances I have had with TNS so far have been amazing. Scoring in the Champions League was a dream. I could not believe when it happened.
Barry Town United manager Gavin Chesterfield.“Playing in that and the Europa League has been a big bonus for me. I have had a great taste of first-team football and now and I want more, so I will keep pushing to play at a higher level.”
Connor Evans (2) and Joe Morrell scored the Welsh goals in the 3-1 win against Switzerland which completed their qualifying campaign.
Wales: O Evans, A Lewis, R Norrington-Davies, C Harries, R Poole, K Davies, R Burton (I Christie-Davies 93), J Morrell, M Harris (M Touray 80), C Evans, N Broadhead (A Babos 61).
The nine qualifying group winners automatically join hosts Italy at the 2019 finals, the four runners-up with the best records against the teams first, third, fourth and fifth in their group will go into the play-offs.
They are Austria, Greece, Poland and Portugal who will be drawn into two home-and-away ties to be played between November 12 and November 20.
Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France (holders), Germany, Italy (hosts), Romania, Serbia, Spain.
The finals take place in Italy and San Marino next June.
