But Keena reckons that Melia, the player now in his second season in the Saints first team despite the fact that he only turns 17 this Sunday, can lead the way for the club and the players around him. Melia and Keena were both on target in the Saints’ 3-0 win at home to Waterford at a sold-out Richmond Park on Friday night, a third successive league win for Stephen Kenny’s side which keeps alive their hopes of a place in Europe for next season, with a four-point gap to close on the top four.
Keena came on for Melia in the 75th minute and saw the acclaim of the Inchicore crowd for the teenager who has blossomed in men’s football since his introduction last season.
“We have a good run of form going, there’s good competition for places in the squad. Mason started and showed that against Waterford, he’s flying, we can all see the player he can be, if everything falls right for him,” said Keena, astonished at how quickly Wicklow native Melia has bedded in.
“When I was 16 I was in the St Pat’s U-19s. So it’s brilliant to see him in the first team at 16. He knows how good he is and how good he can be, he has a good head on his shoulders. He’s playing men’s football, and it’s not just his goals, his overall game is getting better and better. I am there to give him any advice he needs but he doesn’t need much, it will be me asking him for advice now.”
The League of Ireland review is here as Dan McDonnell and Seán O’Connor look back on a dramatic night of action at both ends of the table
Keena had his start in senior football with St Pat’s, then had a five-year spell in England and Scotland with a second cross-channel stint after he delivered goals for Sligo Rovers. But a recent spell in the UK, with Cheltenham Town, was tough, just one goal in 46 games for that club last season before he moved home again, and he’s found his feet with the Saints.
“On a personal level it was good to come on and score the goal,” he said of his strike against Waterford, the goal coming when his shot struck the underside of the crossbar and was given as goal by referee Neil Doyle after a look at his assistant on the sideline.
“Last season was tough for me, considering the way things were going for me at Cheltenham. We couldn’t get the results, we couldn’t get anything going, if you were out of the team it was tough to get into it and then when you were in it, it wasn’t going well for me. So to come over and get that fresh start, in a new environment, was great for me. A lot of players come back after a tough period away, Jake Mulraney had a tough spell away, so did Zack Elbouzedi, but we have a fresh mindset, you clear your head and leave the tough times behind you, you are in a positive environment every day.”
