The young defender is keen to make an impact around the first-team this season...
Coventry City defender Dion Kelly-Evans was pleased that his winning goal gave the Sky Blues Under-21s a winning start to the campaign.
The 18-year old, who signed professional terms with the club this summer, netted a 90th minute winner in the 2-1 victory over Cardiff City at the Ricoh Arena after goals from Tom O’Sullivan and Ben Stevenson.
The youngster, who also played in the Under-21s last season, believes it will be a better platform to impress this year without having to juggle the hectic Under-18s and 21s schedules.
“It was really good for us to start the 21s season with a win,” Kelly-Evans said.
“In the first-half we found it difficult, chasing the ball a lot, but we got it together in the second-half and made the most of our chances.
“It was great to score the winning goal, I’ve had a bit of stick from the lads in the dressing room saying it was a cross! But I just thought shoot, hit it and you never know what could happen and luckily for me it nestled into the bottom left corner.
“I’m really confident ahead of the season, the Under-21s will be a better place to show the gaffer what we’re all about, as last season we had Under-18s games on Saturdays then Under-21s games on Mondays. A lot of players got injured as a result but it’s different this year, let’s hope it can benefit us all.”
Kelly-Evans, a boyhood City fan who grew up in Holbrooks, was pleased to get out onto the Ricoh Arena turf and enjoyed his experience playing in his favoured right-back position.
The defender is versatile though and proved that in pre-season, playing the full 90 minutes for the first-team at left-back away to Portsmouth.
Kelly-Evans wants to use that versatility to his advantage and is keen to get near the first-team throughout the 2015/16 season.
He added: “I like to hope I can use my versatility to push for a first-team place, that’s where you want to be as a professional footballer.
“If I can’t get in right-back I’ll try and break in somewhere else. It helps my game to play both sides but I’ve got to cement my place in the Under-21s.
“I really enjoyed it at the Ricoh today, I’ve only played a few times here and to play for your boyhood club here is a great thing for me at this age.”