Damien McCrory

Damien McCrory

Personal information
Full name	Damien Paul McCrory[1]
Date of birth	22 February 1990
Place of birth	Limerick, Ireland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Wingback / Winger
Club information
Current team	Burton Albion
Number	14
Youth career
2006–2008	Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2010	Plymouth Argyle	0	(0)
2008–2009	→ Port Vale (loan)	12	(0)
2009	→ Port Vale (loan)	5	(0)
2009–2010	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	10	(0)
2010–2012	Dagenham & Redbridge	76	(1)
2012–	Burton Albion	154	(10)
National team
2008	Republic of Ireland U18	2	(0)
2009	Republic of Ireland U19	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 22 May 2016 (UTC).

Damien Paul McCrory (born 22 February 1990) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championship side Burton Albion.

First signing professional forms with Plymouth Argyle in 2008, he spent the next two years on loan at Port Vale and Grimsby Town, before joining Dagenham & Redbridge in 2010. He played for the "Daggers" in their victory in the 2010 League Two play-off final. In June 2012, he signed a two-year deal with Burton Albion. He helped Burton to the League Two title in 2014–15 and then to promotion out of League One in 2015–16. He also won international caps for his country at under-18 and under-19 levels.

Club career

Plymouth Argyle

Having been signed to Plymouth Argyle's Centre of Excellence in August 2006,^[2] McCrory rose through the ranks to earn a twelve-month professional contract with the club in May 2008.^[3]

He started the 2008–09 season positively by joining the first team squad in Austria on their annual tour, scoring in one of the games against SpVgg Greuther Fürth.^[4] He was given shirt number 29 for his first professional season.^[5] McCrory joined League Two side Port Vale on loan in October 2008, looking to gain some league experience.^[6] He made his league debut against Shrewsbury Town on 11 October, replacing Paul Edwards on 54 minutes as Vale went on to win 2–1. He fitted into the side well and Vale were keen to see him stay on loan until January 2009.^[7] McCrory returned to Plymouth at the end of 2008,^[8] despite manager Dean Glover's best efforts to extend the deal further; Plymouth wanted him back at Home Park.^[9]

He returned to Port Vale on a one-month loan in late August 2009.^[10] Vale were now under the management of Micky Adams, who initiated the loan after hearing how well McCrory had performed for the club in his previous spell^[11] from the club's chief scout Ray Williams and youth team manager Mark Grew.^[12] Plymouth had to help pay the teenager's wages, as Vale had already spent their playing budget with limited funds.^[13] After the spell was up McCrory was all ready to return to Plymouth, though his parent club then had a last minute change of heart and agreed to fund his loan at Vale Park for a further month.^[14][15] In total he made just two starts and three substitute appearance in his two months at Vale Park, before he returned to Plymouth to try to impress the new coaching regime that had been established in his absence.^[16]

On 9 November 2009, McCrory joined League Two side Grimsby Town on an initial one-month loan.^[17][18] McCrory cemented a place in the "Mariners" side, playing as the club's regular left-back for his two months at Blundell Park, being preferred to club left-back Joe Widdowson. Argyle recalled McCrory from his loan spell the following January; he had played for Grimsby eleven times in all competitions.^[19]

Dagenham & Redbridge

Despite interest to sign him permanently from Grimsby, McCrory joined League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge in February 2010 for a five-figure fee.^[20] He signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the club.^[21] He quickly established himself as the club's first choice left-back.^[22] He went on to play for the "Daggers" in the play-off final victory over Rotherham United; during the Wembley final, he set up Paul Benson for the first goal of a 3–2 win.^[23]

He scored his first senior goal on 10 August, as he struck a "sublime" 25-yard free-kick to provide the opening goal of a 2–1 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup.^[24] He played a total of 23 League One games in 2010–11, as the club suffered relegation back into the Football League's basement division.

McCrory re-established himself as a consistent first team member in the 2011–12 campaign. He gave away a penalty in the 3–1 defeat to Southend United in the Football League Trophy, which was saved, but made amends for his actions by scoring a then-equalizing goal from a 66th minute free kick.^[25] On 15 October, he was a key figure in the club's 3–2 defeat at home to his former club Plymouth Argyle; he provided assists for both of Dagenham's goal, only to be sent off in the 90th minute after fouling Isaac Vassell in the box – Simon Walton converted the resulting penalty to net the winning goal for Argyle.^[26] The red card was later rescinded.^[27] Seven days later he scored his first ever league goal, netting a free kick to provide a late consolidation goal in a 5–2 home defeat by Aldershot Town.^[28] In May 2012, McCrory was released by Dagenham after being told he would not be offered a new contract.^[29]

Burton Albion

In June 2012, it was announced that he had signed a two-year deal with Burton Albion.^[30] Manager Gary Rowett said that he would provide competition to veteran left-back Aaron Webster.^[31] He opened his goalscoring account for the club on 17 November, in a 3–2 win over former club Dagenham, and was rewarded with a place on the League Two Team of the Week.^[32] Burton reached the play-offs at the end of the 2012–13 season, but were defeated 5–4 by Bradford City at the semi-final stage.^[33]

He made 47 appearances in the 2013–14 campaign, helping the "Brewers" to secure a play-off spot. However he damaged cartilage in his knee joint in April and was ruled out of action for four months.^[34] In his absence Burton went on to lose in the play-off final. He signed a new two-year contract with Burton in July 2014.^[35]

He scored five goals in 36 appearances in the 2014–15 campaign as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink managed Burton to the League Two title. He made 41 appearances in the 2015–16 season as Burton won promotion out of League One for the first time in the club's history.^[36] New manager Nigel Clough offered him a new contract in the summer.^[37]

International career

McCrory played twice for the Republic of Ireland under-18s in 2008, before being called up to the represent the under-19s the next year. Two of the under-19 games took place in Belgium for qualification to the 2009 Under-19 UEFA Championship. A 6–1 defeat to Switzerland ended Irish hopes of qualification for the tournament.^[38] Two days later, on 12 June 2009, they defeated Sweden 2–1.^[39]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 May 2016.

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale (loan)	2008–09[40]	League Two	12	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
	2009–10[41]	League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		17	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	2009–10[41]	League Two	10	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	11	0
Plymouth Argyle	2008–09[40]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2009–10[41]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dagenham & Redbridge	2009–10[41]	League Two	20	0	0	0	0	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	23	0
	2010–11[42]	League One	23	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	26	1
	2011–12[43]	League Two	33	1	2	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	1[lower-alpha 1]	37	2
	Total		76	1	4	0	2	1	4	1	86	3
Burton Albion	2012–13[44]	League Two	42	1	4	0	3	0	3[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]	0	52	1
	2013–14[45]	League Two	40	1	4	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	47	1
	2014–15[46]	League Two	32	5	1	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	36	5
	2015–16[47]	League One	39	3	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	3
	2016–17[48]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		153	10	11	0	6	0	6	0	176	10
Career total			256	11	17	0	8	1	11	1	292	13

1. Appearance/s and goal/s in the EFL Trophy.
2. Appearance/s in the play-offs.

Honours

Dagenham & Redbridge

• Football League Two play-offs: 2009–10

Burton Albion

• Football League Two champion: 2014–15
• Football League One runner-up: 2015–16

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
2. "Samba and Seip sign for Plymouth". BBC Sport. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
3. "Argyle sign three young prospects". BBC Sport. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
4. "Plymouth draw opener with Germans". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
5. "Easter is given Argyle 10 shirt". BBC Sport. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
6. "Youngster McCrory joins Valiants". BBC Sport. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
7. "Valiants extend McCrory loan deal". BBC News. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
8. Shaw, Steve (30 December 2008). "Breaking news: McCrory to leave Port Vale". The Sentinel. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
9. "McCrory ends Valiants loan spell". BBC Sport. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
10. "McCrory returns to Vale on loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
11. Shaw, Steve (24 August 2009). "Port Vale: McCrory to join on loan". The Sentinel. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
12. Shaw, Steve (25 August 2009). "Port Vale: McCrory eyes lengthy stay". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
13. Shaw, Steve (25 August 2009). "Port Vale: McCrory vows to hit ground running". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
14. "McCrory U-Turn". port-vale.co.uk. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
15. "Breaking News: McCrory back at Vale". The Sentinel. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
16. "Vale hold on to striker Haldane". BBC Sport. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
17. "Grimsby snap up defender McCrory". BBC Sport. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
18. "Defender Joins Town". grimsby-townfc.co.uk. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
19. "News Round-Up". grimsby-townfc.co.uk. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
20. "Daggers Sign McCrory". daggers.co.uk. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
21. "Dagenham & Redbridge sign Plymouth's Damien McCrory". BBC Sport. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
22. "Gareth Gwillim up for Dagenham & Redbridge challenge". BBC Sport. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
23. "Dag & Red 3 - 2 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
24. "MK Dons 2 - 1 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
25. Phillips, Craig (4 October 2011). "Dagenham & Redbridge 1, Southend United 3". Southend Echo. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
26. "Dag & Red 2 - 3 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
27. "McCrory Appeal Successful". daggers.co.uk. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
28. "Dag & Red 2 - 5 Aldershot". BBC Sport. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
29. "Eight cut loose by Daggers". Sky Sports. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
30. "Brewers Sign Damien McCrory on two year deal". Official Club Website. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
31. "Damien McCrory joins Burton from Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
32. "League 2 Team of the Week". football-league.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
33. "Burton Albion 1 - 3 Bradford". BBC Sport. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
34. Sloan, Tom (16 April 2014). "Burton Albion's Damien McCrory ruled out for rest of season". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
35. "Defender Damien McCrory signs new deal". BBC Sport. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
36. Wilkinson, Ashley. "Burton Albion left-back Damien McCrory: accomplishment sunk in on holiday". Burton Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
37. Wilkinson, Ashley (16 May 2016). "Burton Albion retained list: new deals for Lucas Akins, Damien McCrory and Matt Palmer". Burton Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
38. "Switzerland end Irish hopes of qualification to U19 UEFA Championship". fai.ie. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
39. "Irish U19s produce heroic display to defeat Sweden". fai.ie. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
40. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
41. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
42. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
43. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
44. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
45. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
46. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
47. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
48. "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2012.

External links

• Damien McCrory career statistics at Soccerbase