Falkirk Football Club is delighted to confirm that Rhys Walker and Owen Hayward have signed one year contract extensions, keeping the duo at The Falkirk Stadium until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Both players joined the first team squad in May 2023 as modern apprentices out of the relaunched Falkirk Academy.Owen spent the majority of his first season on loan at East of Scotland Football League side Penicuik Athletic where he gained first-team experience. The 19-year-old goalkeeper was needed on the bench for the first team for much of last season, making the bench 25 times, before a loan spell at Dumbarton was cut short through injury.
Rhys spent the 2023/24 season at Camelon Juniors before making the step up to the Lowland League last season with Cowdenbeath. The 19-year-old winger scored nine goals in 30 Lowland League games last season.
Falkirk Manager John McGlynn commented on the extensions:
“We’re delighted to offer these extensions to Owen and Rhys. Rhys did well last season while out on loan at Cowdenbeath, it’s the type of league that you need to grow up quick, and he was managed by Dougie Hill a former player who Paul and I worked with. Dougie wouldn’t stand for any nonsense so I’m sure Rhys has a learnt a fair bit while on loan there, he has flair, he has speed, and he gets his share of goals. Now we need to see him come back into pre-season and hit the ground running and force his way into the first team.
“Owen had a season to forget last year on a personal level, but there was not a lot he could do about it. He sat on the first team bench the whole of the first half of the season, and when he got the chance to play with Dumbarton on loan, he got a stress fracture in his back early on and his season was over. We felt it was only fair to give Owen another year to make up for this season, as a goalkeeper he has the size, he has the understanding of what we look for, his distribution is very good, he’s brave, and he does very well in our training. He just needs to get games which will probably mean going out on loan as Rhys did to gain that invaluable experience that all young players need to get.”
