Jack Lemoignan ready for friendship battle at Derry City

Newbuildings man Jack Lemoignan is ready to battle it out with good friend, Nathan Gartside, for the Derry City number one jersey this season.
Goalkeeper Jack Lemoignan has signed a two year deal with Derry City. Picture courtesy Event Images & VideoGoalkeeper Jack Lemoignan has signed a two year deal with Derry City. Picture courtesy Event Images & Video
Goalkeeper Jack Lemoignan has signed a two year deal with Derry City. Picture courtesy Event Images & Video

The 20-year-old, who signed his first professional contract when penning a two year deal with the Candy Stripes yesterday (Monday), said he and Gartside will enjoy the healthy competition.

“I’m good friends with Nathan, he was probably the only boy I knew in the first team, when I came in at the start,” explained Lemoignan.

“Nathan has looked after me but big Pete (Cherrie) was also very good to me. They both helped me a lot, but especially Nathan.

“We have trained together for over a year and he is always chatting to me. He knows that I want to be playing and I know that he wants to be playing so it’s just a case of us battling it out during pre-season and seeing who gets the jersey.”

Lemoignan, who has been training with Declan Devine’s first team since last year, admits he still has a lot to do but he insists he’s ready to keep working hard and learning.

“I’m over the moon, this is something I’ve worked towards since I first came into Derry so I’m glad to get it over the line and finally sign,” he added.

“I was in at Derry under Quiggy (John Quigg) but I didn’t sign then. I went back to Newbuildings before Sean Holmes brought me back and then I moved up to training with the first team since last year.

“Since first coming into Derry, I’ve always said I wanted to push on into the first team. It was always something that I had my mind set on and I have always worked hard towards getting here but this is only the start.

“I know I’m only starting out in my career and I need to keep working hard to get a chance and then hopefully I take that chance. In goalkeeping terms I’m definitely young as we play a bit longer than outfield players so I definitely want to push myself as hard as I can and see were that takes me.”

The big goalkeeper admits it took him a while to get use to the speed and the tempo of first team training.

“At the start I could definitely see a massive difference because I was going from training two nights a week, to training five days a week. That was definitely a massive step up but even the step up in standard was huge,” explains the former Newbuildings United man.

“The speed of how quickly the boys were moving the ball was mad but I have always been confident in my own ability so it was just about getting up to speed with things. I knew it was going to take me time to get there and while I’m not there yet I’m determined to get there.”

With Derry team-mates Eoin Toal, David Parkhouse and Gartside all having played for N Ireland at U21 level, Lemoignan would love to follow in their foot steps.

“I have always wanted to play at international level, no matter what age, that would be excellent, not just for me but also for my family as well. I have grown up watching them and I’m a big supporter of Northern Ireland so it would be great to get into their set-up,” he added.

“All those boys are good lads and they show quality all the time. That shows me the standard which I need to try and perform at every week but right now it’s just about being consistent, pushing on and hopefully getting an opportunity with Derry.

“I’m only focused on Derry and doing well for them. We’ll see what happens after that.”