International duty with Northern Ireland stopped Luke Southwood from playing for Bristol Rovers against Newport County, but the goalkeeper was sure to keep a close eye on the Gas whilst he was away.
The shot-stopper had played all six of Rovers' fixtures in the fourth tier before being selected for the Northern Ireland squad, keeping three consecutive clean sheets against Oldham Athletic, Cambridge United and Grimsby Town and watched from afar as the Pirates made it three wins in a row in the league with a triumph over the Exiles.
Luke Thomas' brace and a header from Ellis Harrison gave Darrell Clarke's men a three-goal lead before two late Newport goals brought a tense ending to the fixture, but Rovers held onto their lead to claim all three points.
Southwood was on the way to the RheinEnergieSTADION the day before Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Germany and made sure to watch how the Gas got on in his absence.
“I was telling the boys today that I missed the first half because we had a meeting,” he said. “But in the second half I was on the coach on the way to the stadium to train the day before and I was at the back just shouting my head off saying, ‘lads, come on’ because it got a bit tense at the end but, ultimately, it was a massive three points and I’m buzzing for Brad Young, who did well on his league debut.
“Most importantly, we got the three points, and I was buzzing. I had a spring in my step for training that day.”
As Southwood mentioned, Young, who moved from Leicester City in the summer on a two-year contract, came in for his Sky Bet League Two debut in the Severnside derby.
Working with him every day at The Quarters Training Facility, Southwood had plenty of confidence in Young and stated they push each other every day to push each other on.
“There was no concern there,” said the goalkeeper. “I work with Brad day in, day out, and he’s a great lad, top goalkeeper, and there were no worries with that. Obviously, with James Bittner behind him as well, I know day in and day out, we’re doing the right things, we’re doing similar things, and I was really happy for him, especially to get over the line in the end.
“As a goalie, you know there’s only one spot. So, we know ultimately only one of us is playing at that moment in time, and you’ve got to support each other every day. You are not thinking about whose getting picked on a Saturday, you’re thinking about just getting through the session and learning and pushing each other on.
“I think that’s what we’ve got here. We don’t really look past the end of the session, let alone to the weekend. So, it’s an unbelievable group and it’s working so well.”
Southwood covered plenty of miles when he was away with Northern Ireland, with the Green and White Army travelling to Luxembourg and Germany for their 2026 World Cup qualifiers. They started positively, beating Luxembourg 3-1 before falling to an unfortunate 3-1 defeat to Germany. Isaac Price's volley cancelled out Serge Gnabry's early opener before second-half goals from Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz helped Julian Nagelsmann's men gain all three points.
Playing with and alongside top players on international duty, Southwood enjoyed his time away and said the methods at Rovers are not too different from those of Premier League teams.
“It was really good,” he said. “It was a positive trip and a really good week away with the lads. It’s always really enjoyable when you go away with the boys, and it was a positive trip after picking up three points, which was ultimately the goal of the trip.
“It’s really interesting as we have got some really top players in our squad, and when you’re playing against those top boys like Joshua Kimmich and Florian Wirtz and players like that, in this camp I was watching the game from the sides, but it’s really interesting.
“Just speaking to them, you realise the levels they are at and why they do what they do. It is really interesting, but also it makes you realise that speaking to the lads that are at Premier League clubs, what they do isn’t necessarily too different to what we’re doing here, and I think that tells me that we’re doing the right things here as well.”
Northern Ireland's game away against Luxembourg brought back special memories for Southwood, who made his international debut against Luxembourg. He reflected positively on the past, but stressed that the most important thing was that his nation claimed the win in their opening qualifier.
“It was really good and really familiar," said the 27-year-old. “It was a great place for me in terms of making my debut there, so they were really good memories. More importantly, we picked up the three points against them, which stands us in good stead for the World Cup qualifying, and now we’ve got four massive games to come. Every game in qualifiers like that is like cup games; they are like finals, so there is a lot riding on it.”
Away with Northern Ireland, Southwood was in a goalkeeping union alongside Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who earned his 50th and 51st caps and Stephen McMullan. Working with a different group than usual, Southwood enjoyed training with another style of goalkeepers and insisted he is always looking to learn.
“It’s like any goalkeeping camp I’ve been in, whether that’s club or international, even here with Brad, we do things differently and all different goalies that I’ve worked with throughout my career,” he said. “Ultimately, with goalkeeping, there is no right or wrong way to do it; it’s just the way you find to do it to be most effective. I always love working with different lads, different styles and different coaches. So, I’m always trying to learn in goal. As a goalie, you’ve never got it cracked, that’s for sure, so you’re always trying to learn.”
