Monday 15th July, 2019 at 9:58am
Evan Galasso became the ninth player to graduate from the Thistle Weir Academy and make a first team debut as he came on to replace Lewis Mansell in the 69th minute of Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Airdrieonians.
After becoming a full time modern apprentice last summer, Galasso has been involved in first team training over pre-season and was rewarded with a place on the bench for the Betfred cup tie.
Evan was obviously delighted after the game but made it clear that he was definitely hungry for more.
Speaking to ptfc.co.uk he said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to make my first team debut. It was a special moment and one I’ve been working hard for, so it’s great that the hard work has paid off and I’ve managed to get that moment. However, I know that there is a lot of work ahead, I’m not going to get ahead of myself or think I’ve made it. I know it’s only a start and I’ve got to continue to improve and work as hard as I possibly can.”
Galasso has been involved in a few first team closed door friendly games but stepping onto that pitch was a special moment for him and it nearly got even better when he put a header inches past the post.
“I’ve been training with the first team over the summer and I’ve been going out every day putting everything in to it. I knew I had to work as hard as I possibly could and it was great to be named in the squad this morning and even better when the manager told me I was going on.
“It was almost the dream debut for me. I thought I had scored when I got to that header and was disappointed when it just fell the wrong side of the post. I thought I did well when I got on, I got some touches of the ball and hopefully showed what I can bring to the team if called upon.”
Galasso follows in the footsteps of the likes of James Penrice, Aidan Fitzpatrick and Liam Lindsay and he admits watching players like that step up and do well gives him something to aim for.
“Seeing other players come through the academy and go on to make it into the first team gives all the youngsters that confidence that we can do it too. We have seen how hard they have worked so know what it takes. We can see the rewards are available if we do put that hard work in though and we all want to follow the same pathway as them.”
The youngster does admit having a number of his under-18 teammates involved with him in the first team over pre-season has certainly helped him settle in.
“There have been a number of us involved in the first team over the summer and i think that helped; you have people who you know and feel comfortable with and I think we have all pushed each other along and helped each other as much as we could.”
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