Lee Desmond
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Desmond | ||
| Date of birth | 22 January 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Donaghmede, Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | |||
| Club information | |||
Current team | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Donaghmede Celtic | |||
| Crumlin United | |||
| Cherry Orchard | |||
| 2011–2013 | Newcastle United | ||
| 2013 | Shelbourne | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Shelbourne | 24 | (1) |
| 2015– | St Patrick's Athletic | 41 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2015– | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Lee Desmond (born 22 January 1995) is an Irish professional footballer playing for League of Ireland club, St Patrick's Athletic.
Career
Early career
Desmond played youth football with Crumlin United and Cherry Orchard before being picked up by English Premier League side Newcastle United, where he played in their youth and reserve teams. He was released by Newcastle at the end of their 2012–2013 season despite playing regularly for their development squad. Desmond joined Shelbourne in July 2013 after playing against them in a friendly while on trial with Ipswich Town and impressed Shels manager Johnny McDonnell enough for him to offer the youngster the chance to join the club. He played for the Shelbourne under 19 team for the 2013–2014 season before signing for the Shels first team in November 2013.
Shelbourne
After standing out for the club's under 19 side, he was called up to the first team for the 2014 season as they aimed to win promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division. Desmond became a mainstay in the first team, playing at both left-back and centre-back throughout the season. He scored his first goal in senior football on the 23rd May 2014 in a 1–1 draw away to Finn Harps.[1] The season ended in disappointment however as Shels failed to earn promotion as they lost out to Galway in the Semi-final of the Promotion Playoffs, although Desmond did win the Shelbourne Players' Player of the Year award after a very impressive first season in senior football.
St Patrick's Athletic
Desmond's impressive season with Shelbourne attracted interest from Shels' Dublin rivals and FAI Cup holders, St Patrick's Athletic from the League of Ireland Premier Division. He was announced to have signed for the Saints on the 11th of November 2014, alongside Jason McGuinness and Ciaran Kilduff.[2] Desmond featured throughout the season for Pats, mainly at centre-back but also at left or right back in the absence of Ian Bermingham or Ger O'Brien. He started in many important games including playing in both legs of their UEFA Europa League games against Skonto Riga of Latvia.[3][4] On the 19th of September 2015 he started at left back in the 2015 League of Ireland Cup Final against Galway United and won his first winners medal at senior level, as the Saints won on penalties after a 0–0 draw.[5] At the club's end of season awards he was voted as Young Player of the Year by the St Pat's supporters following a brilliant debut season.[6]
Desmond's second season at Pat's proved to be a more difficult one for him, as he lost his place in the centre of defence following most of his errors resulting in goals for the opposition. Mid way through the season, he was deployed by Liam Buckley as a defensive midfielder following poor performances by various regular choice midfielders and Desmond impressed supporters in some games this role including a 4–1 win over Limerick in the 2016 League Cup Final to help the Saints retain the trophy.[7]
International career
Desmond was called up to the Republic of Ireland under-21's shortly after he signed for St Patrick's Athletic alongside fellow centre back Sean Hoare.
Honours
Club
Individual
- Shelbourne Players' Player of the Year: (1)
- 2014
- St Patrick's Athletic Young Player of the Year: (1)
Career statistics
Professional appearances – correct as of 29 October 2016.[8]
'Other' includes appearances in the Leinster Senior Cup, League of Ireland Promotion/Relegation Playoffs and President's Cup.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europa League | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shelbourne | 2014 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2015 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 2016 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| Club Total | 41 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 65 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 90 | 1 | |
References
- ↑ http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/20530/1/
- ↑ http://www.stpatsfc.com/news.php?id=6549#.VmS_MnrfWrU
- ↑ http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/27920/1/
- ↑ http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/27919/2/
- ↑ http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/27944/2/
- ↑ http://www.stpatsfc.com/news.php?id=6963
- ↑ http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2016/0917/817221-limerick-fc-v-st-pats-athletic/
- ↑ http://ie.soccerway.com/players/lee-desmond/333105/
External links
- "Player profile - Lee Desmond. Airtricity League Stats Centre". Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- "Republic of Ireland – L. Desmond – Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- "Player Profiles". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- "Player Profiles". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 December 2015.