Ruel_Sotiriou

Ruel Sotiriou

Ruel Sotiriou

Cypriot footballer

Ruel Demetrious Sotiriou (born 24 August 2000) is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays for Leyton Orient, as a striker. Born in England, he has represented Cyprus at under-19, under-21 and full international levels.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Career

Orient debut and early loans

Sotiriou made his first team debut for Orient as a substitute in the goalless draw with Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup Fourth qualifying round on 14 October 2017.[2] He then made further substitute appearances in two home league defeats against Macclesfield Town and Gateshead in late October. On 4 November, he appeared as a late substitute for Zain Westbrooke in the 2–1 defeat at Gillingham in the FA Cup first round.[3] He then played in the 3–0 league defeat at Torquay United on 25 November.[4]

He joined Heybridge Swifts on a month's loan in December 2017, scoring on his debut in the 3–3 draw at Waltham Abbey on 30 December.[5] He also scored in the 3–3 draw with Grays Athletic on 6 January 2018.[6]

On 29 January he made a further switch to Leatherhead on a work experience deal.[7] Again he scored on his debut, opening the scoring in the second minute of Leatherhead's 4–1 win at Hendon on 30 January.[8]

On 18 September 2018, Sotiriou went on loan to Bishop's Stortford of the Isthmian League Premier Division, making four appearances.[9][10] At the end of October, he made a fourth loan move, this time to National League South club Chelmsford City,[11] where he made two appearances.

On 22 February 2019, Sotiriou went on a month's loan to Hampton & Richmond Borough,[12] which was later extended until the end of the season.[13] He scored six goals in nine appearances for Hampton, including both goals in the 2–1 win at home to Wealdstone on 13 April.[14]

Dover Athletic and return to Orient

On 1 November 2019, he joined National League side Dover Athletic on a month's loan.[15] His debut came in the FA Cup First Round tie at home to EFL League One side Southend United on 10 November. Coming on as an 81st minute substitute for Steven Rigg, Sotiriou scored the only goal of the game three minutes later.[16] He later said, "For the goal I literally took a touch out of my feet, I was going to square it to Inih but I thought 'No I'm going to take a shot'."[17] On 26 November, Sotiriou scored twice in the 4–3 league defeat at home to Maidenhead United.[18]

Returning to Orient on 28 November,[19] Sotiriou came on as a second-half substitute for Conor Wilkinson in the EFL Trophy Second Round match at Bristol Rovers on 4 December. The tie ended 1–1, and Sotiriou missed the last penalty as Orient lost 4–2 in the shoot-out.[20]

Sotiriou made his Football League debut on 26 December 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute for Dan Happe, and scoring in the 3–1 home defeat to Colchester United.[21] He scored in the second minute of his next match, the 1–1 draw at Newport County on 29 December.[22]

After scoring six goals in eight matches, Sotiriou was awarded the EFL League Two Player of the Month award for March 2022, his goals helping steer Orient away from the relegation zone.[23]

International career

Sotiriou made his debut for Cyprus internationally in March 2019 when he appeared in the 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification for Cyprus, but these were cancelled during the qualification due to Covid-19. He first appeared with the Cyprus U21 team in their attempt to qualify for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the autumn of 2019.[24]

Sotiriou made his debut for the senior Cyprus national team on 21 March 2024 in a friendly against Latvia.[25]

Career statistics

As of match played 29 December 2023
More information Club, Season ...
  1. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  2. Appearances in the Football League Trophy

Honours

Leyton Orient

Individual

References

  1. [1]
    Ruel Sotiriou at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Profile at Leyton Orient F.C." Leyton Orient F.C. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  3. [3]
    "Gillingham 2–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  4. [4]
    "Torquay United 3–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  5. [5]
    "Waltham Abbey 3–3 Heybridge Swifts". Pitchero / Waltham Abbey F.C. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  6. [6]
    "Heybridge Swifts 3–3 Grays Athletic". FWP. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Leatherhead bring Sotiriou in from Orient". Nonleague Daily. 29 January 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Hendon 1–4 Leatherhead". FWP. 30 January 2018.
  9. [9]
    "Leyton Orient's Ruel Sotiriou joins Bishop's Stortford on loan". Local london. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  10. [10]
    "Ruel Sotiriou: Bishop's Stortford appearances". Bishop's Stortford F.C. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  11. [11]
    "Sotiriou Makes Chelmsford City Loan Move". Leyton orient F.C. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  12. [12]
    "Sotiriou signs on loan from Leyton Orient". Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  13. [13]
    "Orient pair with Hampton & Richmond for rest of season". Non League Daily. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  14. [14]
    "Hampton & Richmond 2–1 Wealdstone". Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  15. [15]
    "O's striker Sotiriou joins Dover Athletic on loan". Hackney Gazette. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Ruel Sotiriou scores on debut as Dover Athletic knock Southend United out of the FA Cup". Kent Live. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  17. [17]
    "Leyton Orient striker Ruel Sotiriou 'buzzing' after scoring FA Cup winner for Dover Athletic against Southend". Kent Online. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  18. [18]
    "Dover Athletic 3–4 Maidenhead United". BBC Sport. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  19. [19]
    "Ruel Sotiriou returns to E10". Leyton Orient F.C. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  20. [20]
    "Report: Bristol Rovers 1–1 Leyton Orient (4–2 on Pens)". Leyton Orient. 4 December 2019.
  21. [21]
    "Leyton Orient 1–3 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  22. [22]
    "Newport County 1–1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  23. [23]
    "Ruel Sotiriou wins SkyBet League Two Player of the Month". www.leytonorient.com. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Ruel Sotiriou called up to Cyprus under-21 squad days after FA Cup heroics for Dover Athletic". guardian-series.co.uk. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  25. [25]
    "Cyprus v Latvia game report". Soccerway. 21 March 2024.
  26. [26]
    "Games played by Ruel Sotiriou in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  27. [27]
    "Games played by Ruel Sotiriou in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  28. [28]
    "Games played by Ruel Sotiriou in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  29. [29]
    "Games played by Ruel Sotiriou in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  30. [30]
    "Leyton Orient 2-0 Crewe: Richie Wellens' side seal League Two title". Sky Sports. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
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