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Aaron Connolly makes Venezia debut

The transfer to Serie B is Aaron Connolly's second loan spell from Brighton having spent the second half of last season at Middlesbrough
The transfer to Serie B is Aaron Connolly's second loan spell from Brighton having spent the second half of last season at Middlesbrough

Republic of Ireland international Aaron Connolly made his competitive debut for Venezia in Italy's Serie B on Sunday night.

The Galway native was brought on as an 88th-minute substitute for fellow forward Nicholas Pierini as the club from Venice lost 2-1 at home to a Genoa side that, like them, were relegated from Serie A last season.

Connolly joined Venezia on loan this summer from Brighton, having fallen out of the first-team picture at the Premier League side.

In recent comments, the 22-year-old, who has eight Ireland senior caps, said he had viewed the year-long transfer to Italy as a fresh start and as a way to "just to get away from the circle I was in back in England".

Connolly's debut in the country's second tier follows recent Ireland senior call-up Festy Ebosele making his Serie A debut for Udinese against champions AC Milan on Saturday.

Under-21 winger Liam Kerrigan is yet to make his Serie B bow for Como who have also signed ex-Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona and Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, although the Sligo native was on the bench for their 1-1 draw in the opener against Cagliari on Saturday.

But Kerrigan did make his competitive Como debut in the Coppa Italia first round last weekend as a sub at Spezia.

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