Portsmouth rising star Terry Devlin speaks out about major development
Portsmouth have another full international in their ranks after Terry Devlin made his senior Northern Ireland debut.
Devlin entered the fray with 16 minutes remaining against Switzerland on Friday night (21 March) to see out a creditable 1-1 draw at Windsor Park, a ground in which they have now not lost since October 2023.
A trip to Sweden awaits on Tuesday (25 March) with Devlin vying for a second cap before he returns to make what is expected to be an integral impact on securing survival back at Portsmouth in the Championship.
Devlin gives nod to former fans after international bow
Portsmouth utility hero Devlin has expressed his delight at making his debut after years in the youth teams and continuing to keep Windsor Park something of a fortress.
Northern Ireland may be placed 71st in the FIFA World Rankings but are now unbeaten in their last six in Belfast, and seven of their last eight which also included a win over Denmark, and a 5-0 rout against Bulgaria last October.
That siege mentality under Michael O’Neill has been excellent for the supporters to witness, including those of Devlin’s former clubs Dungannon and Glentoran – who he fondly remembers from his (even) younger days.
“I’m obviously proud because I’ve been working towards it for a while now,” he told Northern Ireland‘s official channels (22 March).
“There were probably a few Dungannon and Glentoran fans who had seen me play before, so I was absolutely buzzing to get out and play in front of them.
“Switzerland are a top nation who qualify for most tournaments. For us to challenge ourselves against players like that is exactly what I want to do. It was a decent result – we want to make Windsor a hard place to come.”
Devlin had previously insisted the Portsmouth fans remained on his mind during the Northern Ireland camp, with his chances in blue and white giving him the senior chance in green and white.
Portsmouth internationals enduring mixed luck
There are currently four Portsmouth first-teamers away from Copnor Road on international duty, including Devlin.
Isaac Hayden celebrated his 30th birthday over the weekend and marked it with a full 90 minutes on Friday night for Jamaica against St Vincent & the Grenadines at Arnos Vale; the second leg of the Concacaf preliminary tie will be played in Kingston this week.
Mark O’Mahony is with the Republic of Ireland Under-21s, and started in Murcia on Friday evening in a 2-0 defeat by Scotland, playing 63 minutes. The young Irishmen face Hungary on Monday before O’Mahony returns to Pompey.
| Portsmouth – current internationals | Update |
| Terry Devlin – Northern Ireland | 16 mins v Switzerland |
| Isaac Hayden – Jamaica | 90 mins v St Vincent |
| Mark O’Mahony – Rep of Ireland U21 | 63 mins v Scotland U21 |
| Kusini Yengi – Australia | Injured v Indonesia |
However, Kusini Yengi has suffered yet another injury setback while away with Australia. In a camp which John Mousinho was hoping would boost his confidence, Yengi will return unfit for Portsmouth after an undisclosed issue.
The Socceroos beat Indonesia 5-1 in Sydney but Yengi did not appear, in a potential sigh of relief for Mousinho – but now it has emerged he was unavailable for Tony Popovic’s side.