Gary Oliver

Gary Oliver (born 14 July 1995)[1] is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton. Oliver started his career at Heart of Midlothian, before a loan spell at Stenhousemuir, followed by one season with the Doonhamers, before spending three seasons with Greenock Morton. On 5 August 2020, after leaving the Doonhamers, Oliver returned to Ton, signing a one-year contract. Oliver has also earned four caps for Scotland U19's.

For the actor, see Gary Oliver (actor).

Gary Oliver
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-07-14) 14 July 1995
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Greenock Morton
Number 11
Youth career
–2013 Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Heart of Midlothian 18 (1)
2014 → Stenhousemuir (loan) 11 (2)
2015–2016 Queen of the South 28 (6)
2016–2019 Greenock Morton 122 (25)
2019–2020 Queen of the South 20 (4)
2020– Greenock Morton 8 (1)
National team‡
2013–2014 Scotland U19 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:10, 6 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:00, 9 August 2020

Club career

Oliver was born in Glasgow and joined Heart of Midlothian's youth academy in Edinburgh. Oliver's professional debut for Hearts was in a Scottish League Cup match against Raith Rovers on 27 August 2013, coming on as a substitute in the 55th minute, replacing midfielder Scott Robinson.[2] Four days later Oliver made his league debut for the club, coming on as substitute for Callum Tapping in the 61st minute in a 2–0 defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[3]

Under the management of Gary Locke, Oliver was one of the youngsters to get an opportunity in the first team, as a result of Hearts entering administration, as well as having an injury crisis at that particular time.[4] Oliver ended his first season at the club with 8 league appearances, as Hearts were relegated to the Scottish Championship. His season, however, was overshadowed when he injured his ankle during a match against Inverness Caley Thistle and was sidelined for three weeks.[5] Oliver signed a new one-year contract extension after Hearts ended their period of administration.[6] On 23 August 2014 Oliver scored his first goal for Hearts in a 4–0 win over Raith Rovers, scoring in the 90th minute.[7]

On 1 September 2014 Oliver joined Scottish League One club Stenhousemuir on loan until 5 January 2015.[8] Ironically, Oliver then played against the Ochilview Park club later that season during March 2015, after his loan spell had ended, scoring a goal as Hearts won 2–1.[9] During his loan spell at Stenhousemuir, Oliver had scored two goals and set-up another goal in a 4–0 win over Stirling Albion on 19 October 2014.[10] On 19 December 2014 Oliver's loan spell at Ochilview ended early, as he was recalled by Hearts after appearing in 11 league matches and scoring two goals.[11]

After one season in Dumfries, Oliver signed for his uncle Jim Duffy's club Greenock Morton.[12] After his two-year deal ended, Oliver signed a one-year contract extension with the Greenock club.[13]

In November 2018, Oliver sustained a broken collarbone in a challenge with Peterhead's ex-Ton midfielder Jamie Stevenson, that kept him out of first-team action for two months. [14]

On 10 June 2019, Oliver signed a two-year contract with Dumfries club Queen of the South, where he returns for a second spell. [15]

On 5 August 2020, Oliver signed a one-year deal with Greenock Morton for his second spell with the club, having triggered a clause in his contract with Queens, after not playing enough matches with the Dumfries club during the 2019-20 season to remain at Palmerston. [16]

International career

During October 2013, Oliver was called up by Ricky Sbragia for the Scotland under-19 squad.[17] Oliver made his Scotland U19 debut in a 1–1 draw against Germany under-19's[18] and scored his first goal in a 4–2 win over Switzerland under-19's.[19]

Career statistics
As of 6 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Heart of Midlothian 2013–14[20] Premiership 80002000100
2014–15[21] Championship 9100112[lower-alpha 1]0122
2015–16[22] Premiership 1000200030
Total 181005120252
Stenhousemuir (loan) 2014–15[21] League One 112000000112
Total 112000000112
Queen of the South 2015–16[22] Championship 286100000296
Total 286100000296
Greenock Morton 2016–17[23] Championship 30720713[lower-alpha 2]0428
2017–18[24] 32531101[lower-alpha 1]0376
2018–19[25] 18 1 2 0 4 0 1 1 25 2
Total 8013711215110416
Queen of the South 2019–20[26] Championship 20 4 1 0 3 1 0 0 24 5
Greenock Morton 2020–21[27] Championship 8 1 0 0 0 0 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 10 1
Career Total 16527912039120332
  1. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup and two in the Premiership play-offs

Personal life

Oliver was born in Glasgow and attended Cleveden Secondary School. Oliver is the nephew of the current Dumbarton manager Jim Duffy.[28]

References
  1. "Gary Oliver Biography". hydc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian Youth Development Committee. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  2. "Raith Rovers 1 – 1 Hearts". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  3. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2 – 0 Heart of Midlothian". BBC Sport. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  4. "Hearts boss Gary Locke uses youth players to combat injury list". BBC Sport. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  5. "Hearts kid Oliver ruled out for three weeks". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  6. "SPFL: Scotland Under-19 forward Gary Oliver signs new one-year Hearts deal". Sky Sports. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  7. "Raith Rovers 0–4 Heart of Midlothian". BBC Sport. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  8. "Oliver out on loan". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. "Stenhousemuir 1–2 Heart of Midlothian". BBC Sport. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. "League One Round-Up: Binos boss quits after Stenny rout, Loons stay on top thanks to keeper heroics". Daily Record. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  11. "GARY BACK FROM LOAN". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. Mitchell, Jonathan (3 June 2016). "Morton add new face as boss Duffy signs his nephew". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  13. Mitchell, Jonathan (15 June 2018). "Gary Oliver signs one-year contract extension". Greenock Morton F.C. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  14. Jonathan Mitchell. "Oliver out for 8 weeks with broken collarbone". gmfc.net. Greenock Morton F.C.
  15. http://www.qosfc.com/news-4584
  16. https://gmfc.net/2020/08/05/player-contract-update/
  17. "Scotland Under-19 squad named for Euro qualifiers". Scottish Football Association. 2 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. "Scotland U19 1 – 1 Germany U19". Scottish Football Association. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. "Young Jambos' national success". Heart of Midlothian F.C. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. "Games played by Gary Oliver in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  21. "Games played by Gary Oliver in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  22. "Games played by Gary Oliver in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  23. "Games played by Gary Oliver in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  24. "Games played by Gary Oliver in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  25. "Gary Oliver | Football Stats | Greenock Morton | Age 23 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  26. "Gary Oliver | Football Stats | Greenock Morton | Age 23 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  27. "Gary Oliver | Football Stats | Greenock Morton | Age 23 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  28. "Flown From the Nest Dedicated to every Norwich City Player since 1980 Jim Duffy". ex-canaries.co.uk. Flown From the Nest. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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