Connor Ellis

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Connor Ellis
Connor Ellis of Cork City with the Premier Division trophy in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-05-12) 12 May 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2009-2013 Bantry Bay Rovers
2013-2016 Cork City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Cork City 21 (2)
2016 → Cobh Ramblers (loan) 12 (5)
2018-2019 Limerick 39 (8)
International career‡
2012 Republic of Ireland U15 2 (0)
2013 Republic of Ireland U17 2 (0)
2015 Republic of Ireland U18 2 (1)
2015 Republic of Ireland Schools 5 (3)
2015 Republic of Ireland U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 June 2019
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 June 2019

Connor Ellis (born 12 May 1997) is a professional footballer who is currently a free agent, having left Limerick F.C. in June 2019.

A former youth international for the Republic of Ireland, he previously played for Cork City where he was part of their League of Ireland Premier Division and FAI Cup double-winning team of 2017.

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Born in Birmingham, England, Ellis moved to Cork, Republic of Ireland at the age of 12 and played at underage level for his local club Bantry Bay Rovers.

Cork City U19s[edit]

Ellis was spotted by Cork City and signed for their Under-19 squad in October 2013, aged 16. Ellis scored his first competitive goal against Drogheda United in Bishopstown the following month and would go on to be prolific at Under-19 level, scoring 46 times in 51 games.

In his first season, 2013/14, he scored 11 goals, including his first hat-trick for Cork in a 6–0 win over UCD in February 2014.[1] In April 2015, he was named in the League of Ireland Under-19 Team of the Year.[2] It was a 2014/15 season where Ellis had scored 16 goals in 18 games.

Ellis scored 14 goals in just 15 games in a shortened 2015 season, which ended with Cork lifting the Under-19 National League trophy after defeating Limerick in the final at the Markets Field.[3] Ellis scored and was awarded the official Man of the Match award in the decider.

The Under-19 2016 season coincided with Ellis’ educational commitments as he focussed on his Leaving Certificate, but he still managed to score five goals in five appearances, before making a loan move to Cobh Ramblers.

Cork City[edit]

On 18 July 2015, Ellis made his first-team debut for Cork City when coming off the bench in a 4–1 win at Longford Town.[4] On 21 July 2015, Ellis was allocated a first-team squad number (17) for the first time.[5]

On 12 July 2016, Cork rewarded Ellis for his performances with his first professional contract at the club.[6] Cork manager John Caulfield remarked: "Connor is one of our bright lights, we have great time for him. He has great attributes; he has his feet on the ground and he is working really hard to make the step up and he is showing all the hallmarks that he can do so."

Cobh Ramblers (Loan)[edit]

To gain senior experience, Ellis was sent on-loan to First Division Cork-based side Cobh Ramblers on 22 July 2016.[7] He struck four goals in 10 league appearances as he helped Ramblers to the First Division promotion playoffs. Ellis also scored in the playoffs against Drogheda United, but Cobh lost the tie.[8] In the FAI Cup, Ellis netted two goals in two appearances for Ramblers, including in their defeat at top-flight Saint Patrick's Athletic.[9]

Cork City[edit]

For the 2017 season, Ellis returned to Cork City. In the season's curtain-raiser, the President's Cup final, he played in a 3–0 win over 2016 double-winners Dundalk.[10] Due to the scintillating form of future Republic of Ireland and Preston North End striker Sean Maguire, then 19-year-old Ellis was used mainly as a substitute – totalling 17 league appearances from the bench.

He was part of the matchday squad for all four of Cork's UEFA Europa League games, in ties against Levadia Tallinn (Estonia) and AEK Larnaca (Cyprus). Ellis scored on his only FAI Cup start that year, twice in a 7–0 win over Athlone Town.[11] Cork went on to win the country's national cup competition on penalties against Dundalk.[12] Overall that year – as Cork claimed the Premier Division and FAI Cup double – Ellis scored five goals from limited minutes in 26 appearances in all competitions.

Limerick[edit]

Having attracted interest from a number of clubs, Ellis – in search of more regular first-team football – opted to sign for another Premier Division club, Limerick F.C., on a two-year contract in January 2018.[13] While only signing the deal in January, Ellis had caught the attention of former Newcastle United and Everton defender Neil McDonald, who had left Limerick in the intervening period to take up a coaching position in the UK.[14]

Ellis made his league debut for Limerick against Bohemians at the Markets Field on 24 February 2018.[15] Troubled by a hip injury early in the campaign, the striker returned from the midseason break in excellent form and scored his first club goal against Derry City at The Brandywell Stadium on 6 July.[16] He also netted an important goal in a win over Bray Wanderers on 21 September[17] to seal Limerick's place in the playoffs. There, they lost to Finn Harps, which saw the club demoted to the First Division.[18]

Despite offers to remain in the top flight, Ellis stayed with Limerick to aid their promotion push. He scored six goals and won the supporters’ club Player of the Month for March,[19] before the club's well-documented financial crisis forced Ellis to depart[20]

International career[edit]

Ellis has represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-15, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 level, as well as Under-18 Schoolboys. In June 2015, Ellis scored in a 1–0 win for the Irish Under-18s just six minutes after coming off the bench against Luxembourg.[21] In March 2016, Ellis was honoured with the prestigious FAI Schools International Player of the Year award.[22] The award had come after Ellis had helped Ireland to win the 2015 Centenary Shield. The striker scored twice in the 3–2 win over Northern Ireland and also netted a goal in the 1–1 draw away to Scotland. The three winners of the award prior to Ellis were Alan Browne, Sean Maguire and Ryan Manning.

Career statistics[edit]

As of 30 June 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cork City 2017 2017 Premier Division 20 2 2 2 3 1 1 0 26 5
2016 2016 Premier Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015 2015 Premier Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 21 2 2 2 3 1 1 0 27 5
Cobh Ramblers (loan) 2016 2016 First Division 12 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 14 7
Total 12 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 14 7
Limerick 2019 2019 First Division 15 6 0 0 1 0 0 0 16 6
2018 2018 Premier Division 24 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 27 3
Total 39 8 2 1 2 0 0 0 43 9
Career total 72 15 6 5 5 1 1 0 84 21

Honours[edit]

League of Ireland: 1

FAI Cup: 1

President's Cup: 1

Munster Senior Cup: 1

Individual

  • Republic of Ireland Under-18 Schools International Player of the Year: 2015

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Connor Ellis Scores First Club Hat-Trick— Cork City FC— corkcityfc.ie". corkcityfc.ie. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Ellis Named In LOI U19 TOTY— loi19— Twitter.com". Twitter.com. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Cork Break Blue Hearts With Comeback Win— Limerick FC— limerickfc.ie". limerickfc.ie. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. ^ "City Close The Gap On Leaders— RTÉ— rte.ie". rte.ie. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Ellis Allocated Squad Number— Cork City FC— corkcityfc.ie". corkcityfc.ie. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Connor Ellis Signs Professional Contract— Cork City FC— corkcityfc.ie". corkcityfc.ie. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Ramblers Sign Two From Cork City— Cobh Ramblers FC— cobhramblers.ie". cobhramblers.ie. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  8. ^ "McCaffrey's goal sends Drogheda into play-off decider— RTÉ— rte.ie". rte.ie. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  9. ^ "St Patrick's Athletic withstand Cobh Ramblers comeback— RTÉ— rte.ie". rte.ie. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Cork City make light work of Dundalk to retain President's Cup— Irish Times— irishtimes.com". Irish Times. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Cork City run riot and put a magnificent seven past Roddy Collins' hapless Athlone Town— The42— the42.ie". the42.ie. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Cork City claim a first-ever double after penalty drama in the FAI Cup final— The42— the42.ie". the42.ie. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Connor Ellis signs two-year deal with Limerick FC— Southern Star— Southern Star". southernstar.ie. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Neil McDonald leaves Limerick FC to join Scunthorpe United— Irish Times— Irish Times". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Last minute equaliser from ex-Leeds striker sees Gypsies earn a share of the spoils in Limerick— The42— the42.ie". the42.ie. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  16. ^ "League of Ireland: Derry City 2-1 Limerick— BBC— BBC". bbc.com. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Bray Wanderers effectively relegated following Limerick loss— The42— the42.ie". the42.ie. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Finn Harps make impressive return to Premier Division— RTÉ— rte.ie". rte.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Ellis Wins Blue Army March Player of the Month— Blue Army— Twitter.com". Twitter.com. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Connor Ellis on his departure from Limerick FC— Limerick Leader— Limerick Leader". limerickleader.ie. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  21. ^ "Ireland U18s beat Luxembourg in friendly— FAI— fai.ie". fai.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Connor Ellis named Republic of Ireland Schools Player of the Year— FAI— faischools.ie". faischools.ie. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
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