Cardiff City's Gavin Whyte: 'Scoring on Northern Ireland debut is something I'll never forget'

From Seaview to scoring against Israel on his Northern Ireland senior international debut, the rise of Gavin Whyte has been a remarkable story.

Extratime.ie reporter Josh Bunting caught up with the 24 year old Cardiff City winger to talk about his career so far and how he's keeping fit amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking about how he is training in the current situation Whyte heaped praise on the club his journey began at, Crusaders.

"I'm keeping myself busy I got some gym equipment from Seaview so big shout out to Crusaders for that,” said Whyte.

"I'm doing my usual jogs one a day and we have individual programmes so I've been doing my own stuff out in the back garden".

Whyte spent one season in England with Oxford United in 2018/19, impressing enough for the U’s for Neil Warnock, Cardiff City boss at the time, to come calling for his services.

"My favourite moment probably is scoring my first goal against Carlisle United in the FA Cup or playing in the Cardiff Vs Swansea, South Wales derby at our place, the atmosphere was electric.”

Whyte's first goal for the Bluebirds as he mentions was in an FA Cup tie with the Cumbrians, as he met Callum Patterson's cross perfectly to head into the net to draw his side level in a 2-2 draw.

The night against Isreal is one that will always stick out for the man known as the ‘Markets Messi’ by some.

When asked about the highlight of his international career so far, there could only be one moment for Whyte.



"Definitely scoring on my debut. It’s not just my favourite moment for the national team but my whole career. It was a special night and something I won’t ever forget".

It took just 106 seconds from coming off the bench for Whyte to register his first international goal to send Windsor Park into a wild frenzy.

Conor Washington saw his effort blocked before the ball fell for Whyte who remained composed to finish.

Gavin Whyte is now a household name across Northern Ireland, but how did his adventure begin?

"I think it was just whenever I started to run about. My mum said I always had a football beside me and I just remember playing every day after school until it got dark. I’ve always loved playing it".

Whyte has already played against some of the best players in World football such as Virgil Van Dijk, Toni Kroos and Marco Reus.



However asked to form his dream 5 aside team, which is a tough ask for anybody, Whyte came up with this side:

David De Gea

Virgil Van Dijk

Zinedine Zidane

Andrés Iniesta

Lionel Messi