Chris Hegarty (footballer, born 1992)

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Not to be confused with Chris Hegarty (footballer, born 1984), a former Scottish footballer.

Chris Hegarty
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-08-13) 13 August 1992 (age 31)[1]
Place of birth Dungannon, Northern Ireland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Dungannon Swifts
Number 6
Youth career
2006–2008 Dungannon Swifts
2008–2010 Millwall
2010–2011 Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Rangers 25 (1)
2014–2016 Linfield 17 (3)
2016 → Dungannon Swifts (loan) 13 (0)
2016–2019 Dungannon Swifts 95 (11)
2019–2023 Crusaders 84 (5)
2023- Dungannon Swifts 4 (0)
International career
2010–2011 Northern Ireland U19 8 (0)
2013 Northern Ireland U21 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 October 2023

Chris Hegarty (born 13 August 1992) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a defender for NIFL Premiership side Dungannon Swifts.

Club career[edit]

Born in Dungannon, Hegarty began his career at youth level with local team Dungannon Swifts. He joined Millwall in 2008 after being scouted playing for the Northern Ireland under-16 team. He captained both the youth and reserve teams (winning the youth league in the process), before joining Hibernian on trial in 2010. He was offered contracts by both Hibs and fellow Scottish Premier League side Rangers, and opted to sign for the latter, revealing "I fulfilled an ambition by playing for the club I grew up supporting".[2]

Rangers[edit]

Although he made several appearances on the substitutes bench in the 2011–12 season, it was not until May 2012 that he made his first-team appearance, in a friendly against Linfield in May 2012.[3] In the summer of 2012, Hegarty became the first player to sign for Rangers after their demotion to the fourth tier of Scottish football.[4] He made 28 appearances in total during the 2012–13 season as Rangers won the Scottish Third Division.[5] He scored his first Rangers goal in the opening game of the 2013–14 season, tapping in after two minutes in a 4–1 win over Brechin City.[6] His season was blighted by injury however, and he would make just one other appearance that season.

Linfield[edit]

In May 2014 Hegarty signed for Linfield on a two-year contract.[7] He was also made club captain.[8] However his time there was blighted by injuries, and in February 2016 he joined hometown club Dungannon Swifts on loan for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.[9]

Dungannon Swifts[edit]

Hegarty signed for Dungannon permanently in May 2016.[10] In February 2018, he helped the Swifts to win the Northern Ireland Football League Cup (their first senior trophy), after a 3–1 victory over Ballymena United in the final.[11] Hegarty was made Dungannon captain in December 2018.[12]

Crusaders[edit]

In May 2019, Hegarty joined Crusaders on a three-year deal.[13] He scored on his competitive debut, a 2–0 victory against B36 Tórshavn in the UEFA Europa League.[14]

International career[edit]

Hegarty won eight caps for Northern Ireland at under-19 level and four caps at under-21 level.[1]

Career statistics[edit]

As of 7 May 2023[1]
Club Season Division League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rangers 2011–12 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Third Division 24 0 3 0 1 0 – 1 0 29 0
2013–14 League One 1 1 0 0 1 0 – 0 0 2 1
Total 25 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 31 1
Linfield 2014–15 Premiership 14 3 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 20 3
2015–16 Premiership 3 0 1 0 2 0 4 0 1 0 11 0
Total 17 3 1 0 3 0 8 0 2 0 31 3
Dungannon Swifts 2015–16 Premiership 13 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 13 0
2016–17 Premiership 32 5 2 0 2 0 – 0 0 36 5
2017–18 Premiership 30 5 1 0 3 0 – 0 0 34 5
2018–19 Premiership 33 1 2 0 2 0 – 0 0 37 1
Total 108 11 5 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 120 11
Crusaders 2019–20 Premiership 15 1 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 19 2
2020–21 Premiership 25 2 0 0 – – 2 0 27 2
2021–22 Premiership 17 0 1 0 2 0 – 2 1 22 1
2022–23 Premiership 27 2 2 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 34 2
Total 84 5 3 0 3 0 7 1 5 1 102 7
Career total 251 28 11 0 16 3 11 1 2 0 291 32

Honours[edit]

Rangers

Dungannon Swifts

Crusaders

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Northern Ireland - C. Hegarty". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Footballers' Lives with Chris Hegarty: I've had difficult days in football and at Rangers but toughest times were waiting to hear from my brother in Iraq and Afghanistan". Belfast Telegraph. 10 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Irish League's Andrew Mitchell and Chris Hegarty look back on dream days in Rangers blue". News Letter. 29 May 2020.
  4. ^ "HEGARTY SIGNS FOR RANGERS". Eurosport. 29 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Rangers youngster Chris Hegarty: Division 3 title means everything to me.. for most of us it's our first winner's medal". Daily Record. 1 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Rangers 4-1 Brechin City". BBC. 10 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Defender Chris Hegarty joins Linfield on two-year deal". BBC. 22 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Former Rangers defender signs for Linfield and takes the captaincy for the Northern Irish champions". Daily Record. 23 May 2014.
  9. ^ "David Healy discusses loan move for Chris Hegarty". Linfield Football Club. 1 February 2016.
  10. ^ "DH - Best wishes to Chris Hegarty". Linfield Football Club. 16 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Dungannon Swifts lift BetMcLean League Cup with 3-1 win over Ballymena United". Belfast Live. 17 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Dungannon Swifts confirm extended contracts for Christopher Hegarty and Seanan Clucas". News Letter. 20 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Chris Hegarty: Dungannon Swifts captain joins Crusaders on three-year deal". BBC. 6 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Hegarty and Beverland planning to finish the job". Belfast Telegraph. 18 July 2019.
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