Luca Connell will fulfil ‘every kid's dream’ on Monday as he prepares to set foot on the hallowed Wembley turf at the age of just 22.
Barnsley look to immediately return to the Championship via the playoffs as they take on Sheffield Wednesday. One of the Tykes players who is looking to write themselves into the history books is the Liverpool-born midfielder.
Bolton Wanderers were on the wrong end of a 2-1 aggregate defeat at Oakwell as Michael Duff’s side edged out the Trotters thanks to a solitary goal from Liam Kitching.
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The architect of the winning goal was Player of the Match, Connell. During his post-match interview, opposition fans were heard in the background chanting: “Luca Connell, you’re a w******.”
Four years earlier, the Evertonian made his senior bow for the Trotters as a 17-year-old against Walsall in the FA Cup - going on to make 12 appearances for the first-team after his rise through the ranks. Connell was in the ranks at Bolton from the age of seven but his time came to an abrupt end as financial uncertainty surrounded the club.
The situation forced the sale of their highly-rated prospect as he moved north of the border, signing for Scottish giants Celtic.
“When I left it was a sad time because I’d been there for 11 years, there’s a lot of people there that I’d spent time with and a lot of my mates are still there,” he told the ECHO. “But at the time, the money helped the club out quite a lot.
“It was hard because a lot of the lads weren’t getting paid. I know they’re footballers and everything about money but they’ve got families to look after so it’s hard for them to focus while the stuff is going on off the pitch.”
Despite not making a senior appearance for the Bhoys, he cut his teeth in the lower leagues with Queens Park where he won back-to-back promotions - winning Scottish League Two before earning promotion via the playoffs to the Scottish Championship last year.
Even though he didn’t manage to feature for the 53-time Scottish champions, a winning spirit was instilled in the midfielder.
“The Celtic move was massive for myself, I’ve been asked what’s the main thing I’ve picked up since I was there and I’d say the winning mentality,” Connell added. “Although I wasn’t playing, just to be around everyone, the way it is up there you have to win, they don’t accept draws or losses and I think that’s what I brought with me.
“With the loans, it was good just to get back playing, I met a lot of good people on the way and I’ve got to be grateful to them for them to be getting me back to where I am today.”
In June, the 22-year-old moved back to England arriving at Duff’s side on a free transfer. The move ended Barnsley’s long-standing pursuit as they won the race to sign the left-footed midfielder.
Fast forward to May, Barnsley find themselves at least 90 minutes away from returning to the Championship.
For Connell, their trip to the capital marks a momentous day in the early stages of his professional career. He said: “It’d be massive, with all due respect it’s the biggest playoff I’ve been in. Going from League One to the Championship it’s massive, everyone will have eyes on it, people at Wembley so I’m looking forward to it.
“Hopefully I can play, do well and get the result. It’s every kid’s dream, growing up that’s what everyone wants to do. I’m in this position now and I won’t take it for granted, I’ll make the most of it and try my best.
“You always imagine these moments happening because it’s one of your dreams, you want to play in these games, these occasions. Luckily I’ve got the opportunity so I’ll grab it with both hands and try as best as I can."
Sheffield Wednesday enjoyed time at the top of League One but a dip in form saw them fall off the pace with Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town booking their place back in the second tier of English football.
The Owls stand in their way after completing their historic comeback against Peterborough. Darren Moore’s side overcame a four-goal first-leg deficit and completed the comeback on penalties to achieve the greatest turnaround in EFL playoff history.
“They were more or less written off by everyone, you couldn’t see where they’d come back because Peterborough were in such good form,” the former Bolton youngster admitted.
“They carried it into the first game but there’s no doubting Sheffield Wednesday have good players.
“They’ve got a good manager, a good set-up, it helped them get back into the game and it shows that if it’s late on and we’re winning we’ll have to be wary that it’s not over until the final whistle.”
During the campaign, Barnsley have picked up six points from a possible six during their meetings with the Hillsborough side but the 22-year-old would swap them for the opportunity to line up against Southampton, Watford and Middlesbrough to name a few.
“This is the last time we face each other, either one of us will be in the Championship next year. Fortunately, we’ve had the six points over the last two games but this is where it all matters, we’d trade the wins for this game,” he concluded.
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