Dave Mooney

Dave Mooney

Personal information
Full name	David Mooney
Date of birth	30 October 1984 (1984-10-30) (age 27)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Leyton Orient
Number	39
Youth career
	Tymon Bawn
	Bushy Park Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2005	Shamrock Rovers	34	(6)
2005–2007	Longford Town	66	(26)
2008	Cork City	22	(15)
2008–2011	Reading	0	(0)
2009	→ Stockport County (loan)	2	(0)
2009	→ Norwich City (loan)	9	(3)
2009–2010	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	28	(5)
2010–2011	→ Colchester United (loan)	39	(9)
2011–	Leyton Orient	17	(3)
National team‡
2007	Republic of Ireland U23	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:02, 30 April 2011 (UTC)

Dave Mooney (born 30 October 1984) is an Irish footballer, currently playing for Leyton Orient.

Shamrock Rovers

Born in Dublin, Mooney joined Shamrock Rovers, his first senior club, in 2000^[1] and scored in every round when Rovers' won the U17 All Ireland title against Kingdom Boys in 2002.^[1] He made his first team debut coming on as a sub against Longford Town on 6 April 2004.^[2] His first goal came on 24 June 2004 against the doomed Dublin City.^[3] In his fifteen months in the first team he scored nine goals in 40 total appearances.

Due to Rovers' financial position at the time players had to be sold on and Mooney moved to Longford. His last game in the Hoops was against Cork City on 22 July 2005.

Longford Town

He made his Longford debut on 6 August 2005 in a 1–0 win over Bohemians. His scoring return of 19 goals in the 2007 League of Ireland Premier Division season ensured he was top scorer in the league [1]. Mooney's goals also led Longford Town to the final of the FAI Cup. However despite Mooney's heroics throughout the season Longford Town were relegated to the League of Ireland First Division, albeit with a six point deduction, and lost the FAI Cup final to Cork City.

His excellent form throughout the season did not go un-noticed and he was nominated for the PFAI Player of the Year and won the FAI Player of the Year [2] as well as the Player of the Month award for August 2007.

Cork City

After Mooney's spectacular form throughout the 2007 League of Ireland season it was obvious that he would be playing somewhere else than First Division football in Flancare Park. He had been linked with a move to the Football League next season with Football League Championship sides Crystal Palace and Colchester United reportedly interested in signing the striker. Representatives from Premier League side Fulham were said to have been in attendance at the FAI Cup final, and Leeds United manager Dennis Wise had also watched Mooney in action.^[4]

However Mooney promised to follow his manager Alan Mathews down south if he was to stay in Ireland. He had been offered a contract by English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers, but instead signed a longer three-year contract with perennial title challengers Cork City in January 2008 thus ending two and a half years in the midlands.^[5]

Mooney was a revelation in his only season with Cork City, racing to the top of the goalscoring charts again. He was widely regarded as one of the best players in the league. A particularly impressive showing against Derry City at The Brandywell saw Mooney score twice in a minute to bring the game (which Derry had dominated) level at 2–2, and come close to completing his hat-trick just moments later with a speculative 30-yard effort that came back off an upright (a spectacular goal from Denis Behan eventually gave Cork all three points). Before European football came to Turner's Cross midway through the season, Mooney had scored 18 goals in total, and broken his team mate Behan's record for a scoring run by netting 11 goals in six matches. He then scored on his European debut, in a 2–2 UEFA Cup draw with Finnish side FC Haka [3].

Reading

However, Mooney would only last another month at Cork City. It was revealed on 12 August 2008 that the club was in the region of €800,000 debt. However, this was not the only reason. Mooney's season was similar to Roy O'Donovan's the season before. Already top of the goalscoring charts, Mooney had attracted renewed interest from England. One of the clubs was Reading. On 20 August, he signed for them for a fee believed to be in the region of €260,000. Mooney was given squad number 12.

Mooney made his Reading debut in the League Cup, coming on as a substitute against Luton Town (according to the Reading official website he had also lined up alongside Reading teammate Noel Hunt for Shamrock Rovers, which is untrue as Hunt had left the club 15 months prior to Mooney's debut). He then made an extra time appearance in a League Cup penalty shootout defeat against Stoke City. On 2 June 2011, Mooney was released after his contract expired.^[6]

Norwich City

Mooney had a loan spell (cut short by injury) with League One side Stockport County midway through the 2008–09 season, but in March 2009, he moved on a month's loan to Championship strugglers Norwich City. He scored twice in his first three appearances for the Canaries, including the opener in a 2–0 win over Cardiff City, and the only goal of the game against fellow relegation candidates Plymouth Argyle. As a result, Mooney's loan spell at Carrow Road was extended until the end of the season. Although he would eventually total three goals in nine league games for the club, his contribution would not be enough to prevent Norwich from being relegated.

Due to the different time-frame of the League of Ireland season, the end of the 2008–09 campaign brought Mooney his first break from playing and training since March 2008.

Charlton Athletic

Mooney scored his first Reading goals on his full debut for the club, scoring twice at home to Burton Albion in a first round Carling Cup tie on 11 August 2009.^[7]

However, on 16 October it was announced that Mooney would be joining League One side Charlton Athletic on an emergency loan until 1 December.^[8] He made his first team debut the next day, coming on as a late substitute in Charlton's 2–1 victory against Huddersfield at The Valley. After two more appearances as a substitute, Mooney was handed his first league start for the club against MK Dons at The Valley on 14 November, and scored an equalising goal in the 13th minute to set the Addicks on their way to a 5–1 victory over their promotion rivals. He opened his side's account again in a 4–2 home win over Bristol Rovers on 24 November, prompting Charlton manager Phil Parkinson to extend Mooney's loan deal with the club for another four weeks, until 28 December.

Having played a part in three of his side's goals, Mooney sustained a knee injury in the club's 4–4 draw against arch rivals Millwall on 19 December, which saw him out of action for the rest of 2009. He returned to Reading at the end of the year, only to re-join Charlton again on 14 January, in a new loan deal set to run until 11 February. However, on 28 January, Mooney's loan was extended until the end of the season.

Mooney finished with six goals from a total of 31 appearances for the Addicks, with one goal coming on his last appearance for the club, a League One play-off semi-final defeat (Charlton had won 2–1 on the night, but lost the tie after a penalty shoot-out) against Swindon Town.

Colchester United

On 5 August 2010 it was announced that Mooney would be joining League One side Colchester United on loan until 3 January 2011.^[9] He came on as a substitute in the U's first league game of the season, a 2–2 draw at Exeter City. Mooney then scored twice on his full debut for the club, with a pair of first half goals in a 3–0 League Cup win over Hereford United. He scored his first league goal for Colchester in a 1–1 draw at home to Carlisle United on 27 August.

Mooney scored twice on his first appearance in the FA Cup, a 4–3 first round win over Bradford City on 6 November.

Mooney initially had a loan deal which ran until 6 January, but decided to return to Colchester United for the remainder of 2010/2011 season. He finished as the club's top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions as they finished in 10th place in nPower League One. With his Reading contract expiring in June 2011, Mooney became a free agent. However, in July 2011, it was reported, after some speculation, that Mooney would not be returning to the U's on a permanent basis.

Leyton Orient

On 23 July 2011 Mooney signed his first permanent contract since 2008, a two-year deal with League One side Leyton Orient, where he links up with former Norwich City team-mate Jamie Cureton. He scored his first goal for the club in a League Cup game against Bristol Rovers, following it with a goal against Blackburn Rovers in the next round. Mooney then scored his first two league goals, away at Yeovil Town on 25 October, as the game ended 2–2.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "New striker: the full factfile". readingfc.co.uk. 2008-08-21. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1371297,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
2. ^ "Match Summary – Rovers vs Longford Town". shamrockrovers.ie. 2004-04-06. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20080607192119/http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/reports/vLongford060404.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
3. ^ "Match Summary – Dublin City vs Rovers". shamrockrovers.ie. 2004-06-24. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20080607191648/http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/reports/vDublinCity240604.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
4. ^ ireland.com – Breaking News – Brennan steals show in fine win
5. ^ Nick Royle. "Mooney on trial at Blackburn", Setanta Sports, 23 January 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-20
6. ^ http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~2370284,00.html
7. ^ "Reading 5 – 1 Burton Albion". BBC. 11 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/8187631.stm. Retrieved 14 August 2009. 
8. ^ cafc.co.uk "Striker snapped up on loan", CAFC.co.uk 17 October 2009. Retrieved on 2009-10-19
9. ^ "Mooney loaned to Colchester", readingfc.co.uk 5 August 2010. Retrieved on 2010-08-05

External links

• Reading profile
• Norwich City profile
• Dave Mooney career stats at Soccerbase
• Charlton Athletic Profile
• Colchester United Profile

Persondata
Name	Mooney, Dave
Alternative names	Mooney, David
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	1984-10-30
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Date of death
Place of death