Athletic pair miss out on Toulon tournament

ATHLETIC duo Cedric Evina and Oumare Tounkara have been left out of the France under-20 party for next week’s Toulon Tournament.

The pair had been named in the provisional squad, but failed to make the final cut when it was whittled down last night.

Marauding full-back Evina and powerful target man Tounkara will be disappointed at their exclusion, but can take heart from the fact their committed performances at club level caught the attention of the national team in the first place.

Staying on the international front, Warren Feeney has been handed a starting place by Northern Ireland for tonight’s Carling Nations Cup clash with Wales.

Feeney — who notched just one goal for Athletic last term, in the FA Cup loss at Accrington Stanley — played 73 minutes in Tuesday night’s 5-0 defeat against Republic of Ireland before making way for Liam Boyce.

Boss Nigel Worthington has decided to give Feeney another go tonight, while club team-mate Carl Winchester is again among the substitutes.

A string of impressive performances for Paul Dickov’s side and a stunning strike against MK Dons on the last day of the season saw the 18-year-old fast-tracked to his country’s senior set-up.

While Worthington was reluctant to throw the defender in at the deep end during Tuesday’s Dublin drubbing, he may be tempted to give him valuable match time at the Aviva Stadium tonight if his side make a better fist of it against the Welsh.




ATHLETIC will open the We Are Latics shop at 8am on Tuesday, June 7 after being forced to put back the sale of the club’s new away strip.



The black kit was due to be launched on Thursday, but the boat carrying it encountered delays in the Far East. The early opening will allow people to buy the kit on their way to work.