Alex_O'Hanlon

Alex O'Hanlon

Alex O'Hanlon

Irish footballer

Alex O'Hanlon (born 24 April 1996) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for St Mochta's in the Leinster Senior League. He has previously played for Liverpool, St Patrick's Athletic, Glentoran, Shelbourne & Wexford.

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Career

Early career

A native of Blanchardstown, County Dublin, O'Hanlon played with top Dublin youth football clubs St Kevin's Boys, the club that produced Republic of Ireland internationals Liam Brady, Damien Duff, Stephen Carr, Ian Harte, Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick among others. O'Hanlon excelled at underage level playing at left back and in May 2011, at the age of 15, he was snapped up by Premier League club Liverpool, despite interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid, with comparisons in playing style being made with Wales international Gareth Bale.[1][2] After playing at left-back, O'Hanlon moved into midfield and his performances in the centre midfield earned him his first professional contract at the end of the 2012–13 season. He followed that up with seven goals in 28 games in 2013–14 season, helping him break into Alex Inglethorpe's U21s setup. O'Hanlon made 5 appearances in his side's 2014–15 UEFA Youth League campaign.[3] During his time as first team manager, Brendan Rodgers included him in his first team squad for Premier League games against Swansea City and Newcastle United.[4] In March 2016, first team manager Jürgen Klopp included him in the first team squad on their training camp in La Manga Club, Spain.[4] In April 2016, O'Hanlon was offered a new contract with the club but opted to turn down the offer as he looked elsewhere for first team football. During this spell he went on trial with Sheffield Wednesday in search of a contract[5] After he left Liverpool, he went on trial at Huddersfield Town, where he strangely went on to play over 10 games as a trialist and still didn't sign a full professional contract with the club.[6]

St Patrick's Athletic

O'Hanlon returned home to Dublin and signed for League of Ireland Premier Division side St Patrick's Athletic on 9 January 2017 on a 2-year contract ahead of the 2017 season, alongside Barry Murphy and Kurtis Byrne.[7][8][9][10][11] On 31 January 2017 O'Hanlon made his Pats debut away to Bray Wanderers in the Leinster Senior Cup, scoring the fourth goal in a 4–0 win for the Saints at the Carlisle Grounds.[12][13] He began the season alternating between left wing and attacking midfield roles, impressing Pats supporters and media in the Dublin derby wins over Shamrock Rovers[14] and Bohemians. [15] On 17 April, O'Hanlon scored a penalty in a 5–3 shootout win over Bray Wanderers in the League Cup following a 0–0 draw after extra time.[16] O'Hanlon scored his first league goal at senior level on 16 June 2017 when he opened the scoring in a 3–1 Dublin derby defeat at home to Bohemians.[17] In the months after that, with the team struggling in a relegation battle, O'Hanlon lost his place in the starting 11 and was limited to the occasional substitute appearance. He scored his third goal of the season against Firhouse Clover amongst an experimental lineup in a 2–1 Leinster Senior Cup Quarter-final win, looping a shot over the goalkeeper from 25 yards.[18]

Glentoran

Despite having another year left on his contract with Pat’s, O’Hanlon and the club came to the decision to terminate his contract by mutual consent after he failed to nail down a spot in the starting team or even the bench in the second half of the season. He went on trial with newly promoted Waterford for pre-season, playing in a friendly vs Wexford but he was not offered a contract by the club. On 31 January 2018, O'Hanlon signed for Belfast club Glentoran, of the NIFL Premiership.[19]

On 17 July 2018, O'Hanlon played for Grimsby Town on trial in their pre-season game with Sunderland.[20]

Shelbourne

On 18 December 2018, it was announced that O'Hanlon had signed for League of Ireland First Division club Shelbourne ahead of their 2019 season.[21] He made 9 appearances over the season as his side won the league, gaining promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division.[22] 2020 saw O'Hanlon play in all but one of Shels' 18 league games, as well as the League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off as his side were relegated back to the League of Ireland First Division in what was a shortened season due to COVID-19.[23][22]

Wexford loan

O'Hanlon signed for fellow League of Ireland First Division club Wexford on a season long loan on 25 February 2021.[24] After making just 7 appearances for the club, he departed Wexford and left Shelbourne, opting to play amateur football.[25]

St Mochta's

O'Hanlon signed for Leinster Senior League side St Mochta's in July 2021 during their pre-season. He appeared in their 2021 FAI Cup campaign, setting up an extra-time winner for Alan Byrne in a 2–1 win over Ulster Senior League side Cockhill Celtic in the Qualifying Round on 10 July 2021.[26] On 25 July he played the full 90 minutes as his side reached the Second Round of the FAI Cup, beating fellow Leinster Senior League side Crumlin United 2–1 away from home.[27]

International career

O'Hanlon has played international football for the Republic of Ireland all the way up from Under 15s level to Under 21s.[28] He made his Under 21 debut on 11 February 2017 against the Ireland Amateurs squad.[29]

Career statistics

Professional appearances – correct as of 31 August 2021.[25]

More information Club, Division ...
  1. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup
  2. Appearances in League of Ireland play-offs

References

  1. [1]
    Pearce, James (19 May 2011). "Liverpool FC beat Man Utd to signature of Irish teenager Alex O'Hanlon". liverpoolecho.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Liverpool sign Irish teen dubbed the new Gareth Bale - JOE.ie". joe.ie. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  3. [3]
    "Alex O'Hanlan". www.uefa.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  4. [4]
    "Don't join top English clubs, O'Hanlon tells Irish hopefuls - Independent.ie". independent.ie. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. [5]
    "Liverpool U21 Midfielder Alex O'Hanlon Set To Leave At The End Of The Season". thenextgencopites. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  6. [6]
    Thomson, Doug (19 September 2016). "Huddersfield Town give trial to former Liverpool player". examiner.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Club News : Saints Sign Barry Murphy, Alex O'hanlon & Kurtis Byrne". www.stpatsfc.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. [8]
    "From Anfield to Inchicore for Alex - Herald.ie". herald.ie. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  9. [9]
    "St Pat's add former Liverpool prospect to their squad ahead of 2017 season - Independent.ie". independent.ie. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  10. [10]
    Dollery, Paul. "Former Liverpool youngster one of three significant additions for St Pat's". the42.ie. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  11. [11]
    "Irish football news: St Patrick's Athletic sign former Liverpool youth Alex O'Hanlon - Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  12. [12]
    "Bray Wanderers (0) - St Patrick's Athletic (4)". stpatsfc.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 Leinster Senior Cup Fourth Round - Bray Wanderers -v- St. Patrick's Athletic". www.extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  14. [14]
    "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Shamrock Rovers". www.extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  15. [15]
    "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division - Bohemians -v- St. Patrick's Athletic". www.extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  16. [16]
    "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 League Cup Second Round - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Bray Wanderers". www.extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  17. [17]
    "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Bohemians". www.extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  18. [18]
    "Club News : Result: Saints 2 - Firhouse 1". stpatsfc.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  19. [19]
    "Welcome Alex - Glentoran FC". www.glentoran.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  20. [20]
    Findlater, James (18 July 2018). "How Grimsby Town's trialists fared against Sunderland". www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  21. [21]
    Gallagher, Aaron. "Former Liverpool midfielder Alex O'Hanlon agrees deal to join Shelbourne". The42. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  22. [22]
    "Republic of Ireland - A. O'Hanlon - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  23. [23]
    "Longford Town promoted after beating Shelbourne in relegation playoff | Buzz.ie". www.buzz.ie. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020.
  24. [24]
    "Alex O Hanlon joins on season-long loan deal from Shelbourne".
  25. [25]
    "Republic of Ireland – A. O'Hanlon". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  26. [26]
    "Cockhill Celtic's FAI Cup dream ends after extra-time defeat".
  27. [27]
    "St Mochta's survive scare to progress against Crumlin". 25 July 2021.
  28. [28]
    "In Depth: Liverpool Under-21 midfielder Alex O'Hanlon". thenextgencopites. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  29. [29]
    "Ireland U21s Home-based squad draw with Irish Amateurs - Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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