Gavin makes debut for Charlton Athletic

Rising soccer star Dylan Gavin made his senior debut for Charlton Athletic against Leyton Orient tonight.

The talented Athlone native came on as a substitute after 69 minutes of Charlton's 3-1 victory over their London rivals in the Papa John's Trophy.

Dylan first played schoolboy football with St Francis in the Athlone District Schoolboy League and his goalscoring prowess was evident from an early age.

He enjoyed national U-15 league success with Athlone Town in 2017. Gavin scored both of Athlone's goals in a 2-1 victory over St Patrick's Athletic in the final. Having equalised from a penalty, Gavin scored a dramatic winner in stoppage time.

Gavin joined Charlton last year and he showed tremendous form for the club's U-18s when action resumed following Covid-19 related restrictions.

The striker scored against Millwall in his first league game at U-18 level and followed that up with two goals in a 3-1 win over QPR (Gavin is pictured above in action during that game).

The Papa John's Trophy (also known as the EFL Trophy) features clubs from League One and League Two, as well 'Academy' teams from both the Premier League and Championship.

Gavin's appearance tonight is a significant milestone for the young Athlone player.

Charlton currently compete in League One, English football's third tier, having been relegated from the Championship last season. The Addicks' current manager is former Leeds player Lee Bowyer.

A past pupil of Marist College, Gavin impressed for the school in both soccer and Gaelic football and also played for Athlone GAA club.