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18
May
Lucas Barnes, 17, on his Harrogate debut, Simon Weaver and future ambitions
Harrogate Town announced on May 7 it had granted professional contracts to two of its youth players, Marcus Etherington and Lucas Barnes.
Four days earlier, on May 3, 17-year-old Barnes made his professional debut for the club, replacing long-serving midfielder Josh Falkingham in the 77th minute.
The youngster looked assured when coming on, making an important challenge inside his own penalty area and helping to see out a narrow 2-1 victory over Morecambe.
The Stray Ferret spoke to Barnes this week who told us what it was like to make his debut:
It was nerve-racking knowing I was about to come on, but since I was young it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
I made a challenge in the penalty area and wasn’t sure whether the ref was going to give a penalty or not, so my heart was going a bit then.
Barnes replaced Falkingham with 13 minutes left to play.
The Bradford-born midfielder said that his family were all rugby fans, so he never really supported a football team, but he started playing on local pitches when he was three years old.
After being spotted by scouts during junior football matches, Barnes started going to development centres. He was at Huddersfield Town's academy by the age of eight.
Moving to other clubs such as Barnsley in between, the youngster eventually joined Harrogate Town in 2023, where he has trained in the youth team.
He spent time training with the first team over Christmas and featured in the squad against Salford on New Year's Day, but did not make it onto the pitch.
Barnes spoke about the difference between youth and men’s football:
It’s much more intense every day. You have to be giving 100% in every session. Physicality is definitely a big thing, and the men have a lot more experience.
That doesn’t intimidate me though, my game is all about running around and tackling players.
In training, players like Falks [Josh Falkingham] help you understand the game more. It makes my game much easier.
The young midfielder told me that his aim for next season was to get as many minutes for the first team as possible and carry on pushing himself. He added that he does not have any ambitions outside of Harrogate Town at present.
Barnes was keen to praise club manager Simon Weaver for his support, and the entire coaching staff, who he said were all “very good with the whole youth set up”.
He told the Stray Ferret what Weaver said to him before and after he had made his debut:
Before I was about to go on, he told me he believed in me and wanted to see what I can do.
After the game he said he was pleased with my performance. He also told me he was happy that I smashed someone in front of him.
With Harrogate Town having currently confirmed 11 players contracted for next season, the recent contract signings of youth products Lucas Barnes and Marcus Etherington may prove to be important.
The young midfielder will certainly hope that, in the absence of Josh Falkingham next season, there may be an opportunity to compete with Bryn Morris and Ben Fox for one of those midfield spots.
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