Andrew Lyons (born 2 August 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers and the Republic of Ireland U21 national team. He is due to join EFL Championship side Blackpool in January 2023.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2000-08-02) 2 August 2000 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Naas, County Kildare, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | St Joseph's Boys | ||
| 2016 | Bray Wanderers | ||
| 2016–2017 | Bohemians | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2021 | Bohemians | 58 | (1) |
| 2022– | Shamrock Rovers | 31 | (7) |
| National team‡ | |||
| Republic of Ireland U15 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U17 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U19 | |||
| 2021–2022 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 6 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:41, 11 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:51, 27 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
A native of Naas, County Kildare, Lyons originally played with Dublin club St Joseph's Boys until July 2016 when he signed for League of Ireland club Bray Wanderers under-17 side, although a month later he signed for the under-17 side of Bohemians in August 2016.[1] 2017,[2] and 2018,[3] saw Lyons help his side to back to back League of Ireland U19 Division wins, an Enda McGuill Cup win in 2018, while he also featured in the UEFA Youth League against Midtjylland in 2018 and PAOK in 2019.[4] He was named League of Ireland U19 Division Player of the Year during his time with the club's under-19 team.[5]
Lyons was an unused substitute in 3 league fixtures during the 2017 season.[6] He made his debut in senior football on 5 June 2018 in a 3–1 defeat away to Dundalk in the Leinster Senior Cup.[7] Lyons scored the first goal of his senior career on 16 September 2019 in a 2–0 win over Crumlin United in the Quarter Final of the FAI Cup at Richmond Park.[8] At the end of the 2020 season he was named in the PFAI Team of the Year by his fellow professionals.[9] He signed a new one-year contract with the club on 25 January 2021.[4]
Lyons signed a multi-year contract with rivals Shamrock Rovers on 24 January 2022.[10] Lyons scored the first European goal of his career on 25 August 2022 in a 1–0 win over Hungarian side Ferencváros in a UEFA Europa League Playoff Round tie at Tallaght Stadium.[11] On 6 September 2022, he was named League of Ireland Player of the Month for August 2022.[12]
On 29 August 2022, it was announced that Lyons would join EFL Championship club Blackpool in January 2023 on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an fee believed to be in the region of £300,000 plus add-ons.[13][14][15][16]
Lyons has represented the Republic of Ireland at every level from under-15 up to under-21 level, including representing the under-19 side in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Armenia.[4] He made his debut for the under-21 team in a friendly against Australia U23 on 2 June 2021.[17]
| Club | Division | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Bohemians | League of Ireland Premier Division | 2018[6] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2019[6] | 14 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2020[6] | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||||
| 2021[6] | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 6[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 79 | 3 | ||
| Shamrock Rovers | League of Ireland Premier Division | 2022[6] | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | 9[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 9 | |
| Career total | 83 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 114 | 12 | ||
Shamrock Rovers F.C. – current squad | |
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2020 PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year | |
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2022 PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year | |
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