Luke Leahy

Luke Leahy (born 19 November 1992) is an English footballer, who plays as a defender or midfielder for Bristol Rovers. He started his career at Rugby Town and signed for Falkirk in 2012, where he played for five seasons.

Luke Leahy
Personal information
Full name Luke Leahy[1]
Date of birth (1992-11-19) 19 November 1992[2]
Place of birth Coventry, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position(s) Defender/Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Bristol Rovers
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Rugby Town 31 (2)
2012–2017 Falkirk 127 (11)
2017–2019 Walsall 90 (5)
2019– Bristol Rovers 47 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:30, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Leahy began his career with Rugby Town, affiliated with the Gordon Strachan Football Foundation.[4]

Falkirk

He signed for Falkirk in the summer of 2012, after trials with Birmingham City, Bradford City and Peterborough United.[5]

He was signed by Steven Pressley originally as an attacking midfielder, despite the fact he had played left-back for Rugby Town the previous season. He made his first team début in the Scottish Challenge Cup against Stirling Albion on 28 July 2012.[6] His league debut came in September against Cowdenbeath at Central Park as a substitute in the 72nd minute of the game.[7] On 10 November 2012, he scored his first goal for The Bairns against Raith Rovers at Stark's Park.[8] However, he would only go on to make three further appearances that season; two of which were from the bench.[9]

Leahy continued to be a peripheral figure under Gary Holt as he struggled to stake a claim for a place in the side; on 7 September 2013, he was even listed as the substitute goalkeeper for Falkirk in their Scottish Challenge Cup Quarter Final against Raith Rovers,[10] as Falkirk didn't have a third choice keeper to put on the bench. He made 23 appearances in all competitions in season 2013/14, most of which were from the bench, and managed a solitary goal; an injury time equaliser against Dundee at Dens Park.[11]

Peter Houston became Falkirk manager in the summer of 2014, just after Leahy had signed a new two-year contract extension. Houston was the first manager to give Leahy a chance to hold down a place in the side. He was on the bench for the first four league games of season 2014/15, but started the 1–1 draw with Queen of the South on 13 September 2014 at left-back,[12] and has since made the position his own. Leahy made 41 appearances in all competitions; he also started the 2015 Scottish Cup Final for Falkirk against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which they lost 2–1.[13][14] He continued to be a mainstay in the Falkirk team that had a fantastic season finishing 2nd in the 2015/16 Scottish Championship, making 46 appearances across all competitions.[15] On 22 August 2015, he scored what would go on to be voted Falkirk's goal of the season in a 2–1 win against Livingston at Almondvale.[16] On 19 February 2016, Leahy penned a one-year extension with Falkirk, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2017.[17] Leahy left the Bairns in May 2017, following the expiration of his contract.[18]

Bristol Rovers

He was released by Walsall at the end of the 2018–19 season.[19] On 9 July 2019, Leahy joined League One side Bristol Rovers.[20] He made his debut for the club on 3 August 2019, in an opening 2-0 defeat away at Blackpool.[21] He scored his first goal for the club on 10 November 2019, opening the scoring at the back-post in a 1-1 draw with Bromley in the FA Cup first round.[22]

Leahy scored his first league goal for Rovers on the opening day of the 2020–21, converting a penalty in a 1-1 draw away at Sunderland.[23]

Career statistics
As of match played 30 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Rugby Town 2011–12[24][25] SL Division One Central 31200—4[lower-alpha 1]0352
Falkirk 2012–13[26] Scottish First Division 8100101[lower-alpha 2]0101
2013–14[27] Scottish Championship 19100202[lower-alpha 2]0231
2014–15[28] Scottish Championship 33350102[lower-alpha 2]0413
2015–16[29] Scottish Championship 36320306[lower-alpha 3]1464
2016–17[30] Scottish Championship 31300403[lower-alpha 4]0383
Falkirk total 127117011013115812
Walsall 2017–18[31] League One 46210104[lower-alpha 5]1523
2018–19[32] League One 44340203[lower-alpha 5]0533
Walsall total 9055030711056
Bristol Rovers 2019–20[33] League One 32061201[lower-alpha 5]0411
2020–21[34] League One 15322103[lower-alpha 5]0215
Bristol Rovers total 473833040616
Career total 2952120317028235926
  1. One appearance in FA Trophy, two appearances in Southern League Cup, one appearance in Birmingham Senior Cup
  2. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  3. Two appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup and two in the Premiership play-offs
  4. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup and two in the Premiership play-offs
  5. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Bristol Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 11. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. "Player Biographies". Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  3. "Luke Leahy player profile". Bristol Rovers F.C. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. "Luke and Lyle sign on with Bairns". Falkirk Herald. 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  5. "Falkirk manager Steven Pressley snaps up young Rugby star Luke Lehy". Daily Record. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  6. "Luke Leahy". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  7. "Luke Leahy – Falkirk". ESPN. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  8. "Raith Rovers 2 – 1 Falkirk : Saturday, 10th November 2012". Scottish Football League. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  9. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  10. "Raith 1–0 Falkirk, 07/09/13". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  11. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  12. "Falkirk 1–1 Queen of the South". BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  13. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  14. "ICT 2–1 Falkirk, 30/05/15". BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  15. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  16. "VIDEO: Luke Leahy goal against Livingston, 22/08/15".
  17. "'Leahy agrees deal to extend Falkirk stay'". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  18. "End of season update". Falkirk FC. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  19. "Walsall: New Saddlers boss releases 11 players following relegation to League Two". BBC Sport. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  20. "Luke Leahy: Bristol Rovers sign former Walsall left-back". BBC Sport. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  21. "Match Report: Blackpool 2-0 Bristol Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  22. "Bristol Rovers 1-1 Bromley". BBC Sport. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  23. "Sunderland 1-1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 12 September 2020.
  24. "Ex-players | Luke Leahy". rugbytownfc.com. Rugby Town F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  25. "Luke Leahy Profile". aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  26. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  27. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  28. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  29. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  30. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  31. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  32. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  33. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  34. "Games played by Luke Leahy in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
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