Ben Doherty (born 24 March 1997) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left back for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City. He previously played for NIFL Premiership clubs Institute, Glenavon, Coleraine and Larne.
Career
Institute
A native of Derry, Doherty played in the academy of Institute, before making his debut in a 3–2 loss at home to Cliftonville on 16 August 2014.[1] He went on to make a total of 13 appearances for the side in all competitions before departing the club in January 2015.[2]
Derry City
Doherty joined League of Ireland club Derry City's under 19 side in 2015, remaining there for 2 seasons before being called up to the first team by manager Kenny Shiels.[3] He made his debut on 27 August 2016 in a 2–2 draw away to Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.[4] Doherty scored the first goal of his senior career on 30 August 2017 in a 3–0 win over Limerick at Maginn Park.[5] He made the first European appearances of his career in July 2017 when Derry faced Danish side Midtjylland.[6]
Glenavon loan
On 17 August 2018, Doherty was loaned out to NIFL Premiership club Glenavon until January 2019.[7][8] He scored 1 goal in 20 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell.[2]
Coleraine
On 28 December 2018, Doherty joined NIFL Premiership club Coleraine on a permanent basis, with midfielder Ciaron Harkin going in the opposite direction and joining Derry City as part of the deal.[9] In later years, he described leaving Derry for Coleraine as the hardest decision of his career.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 18 January 2019, opening the scoring in a 2–1 win away to Ards.[11] Doherty scored 5 goals in 3 appearances in the club's run to winning the 2019–20 Northern Ireland Football League Cup, but missed out on the final as his side defeated Crusaders 2–1 at Windsor Park.[12] He finished the 2019–20 season with 14 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions, his best goalscoring return to date.[2] On 17 September 2020, Doherty scored the first European goals of his career, scoring twice in a 2–2 draw with Motherwell in a 2–2 draw before his side were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League on penalties by the Scottish Premiership club.[13] On 8 July 2021, Doherty made his final appearance for the club, scoring his side's goal in a 2–1 loss away to Velež Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the UEFA Europa Conference League.[14]
Larne
Doherty signed for NIFL Premiership club Larne on 27 July 2021, on a 3 year contract, with Conor McKendy signing for Coleraine as part of the deal.[15][16][17] On 11 January 2022, Doherty started the final of the 2021–22 County Antrim Shield as his side defeated Linfield 1–0 at Seaview.[18]
Return to Derry City
On 6 January 2023, Doherty returned to League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City on a 3 year contract.[19] He made his returning debut on 10 February 2023, in the 2023 President of Ireland's Cup as his side defeated Shamrock Rovers at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.[20] He made 43 appearances in all competitions during his first season with the club, scoring 5 goals as he helped them to secure UEFA Conference League football again for the following season.[21] At the end of the 2023 season, he was named in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year by his fellow professionals.[22] On 11 October 2024, Doherty suffered a hamstring injury in a 1–1 draw with Bohemians which required surgery that ended his season and resulted in missing the 2024 FAI Cup final which his side lost 2–0 to Drogheda United at the Aviva Stadium.[23]
International Career
Doherty received his first call up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad in August 2017 ahead of their game with Albania U21 in which he made his debut in a 1–0 win.[24] He made a total of 4 appearances for the side.[2]
Career statistics
- As of match played on 1 November 2024[25]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Institute | 2014–15 | NIFL Premiership | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 0 | ||
| Derry City | 2016 | LOI Premier Division | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | – | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2018 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | |||
| Total | 47 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| Glenavon (loan) | 2018–19 | NIFL Premiership | 19 | 2 | – | 1 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 2 | |||
| Coleraine | 2018–19 | NIFL Premiership | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | 19 | 4 | |||
| 2019–20 | 27 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | – | – | 31 | 14 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 27 | 14 | 1 | 0 | – | 3[c] | 2 | – | 31 | 16 | ||||
| 2021–22 | – | – | – | 1[d] | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 70 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | 92 | 35 | |||
| Larne | 2021–22 | NIFL Premiership | 38 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5[e] | 0 | 46 | 5 | |
| 2022–23 | 21 | 4 | – | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 0[f] | 0 | 23 | 4 | |||
| Total | 59 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 69 | 9 | ||
| Derry City | 2023 | LOI Premier Division | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | 6[d] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 42 | 5 | |
| 2024 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 2[h] | 0 | – | 32 | 1 | ||||
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 60 | 6 | 5 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 190 | 44 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 239 | 53 | ||
- ^ Includes Irish Cup & FAI Cup
- ^ Includes Northern Ireland Football League Cup & League of Ireland Cup
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ 2 appearances in the NIFL Premiership UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs; 3 appearances in the County Antrim Shield
- ^ Appearance(s) in the County Antrim Shield
- ^ Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
- ^ Appearance(s) in the UEFA Conference League
Honours
Club
- Coleraine
- Larne
- Derry City
Individual
References
- ^ https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2014/08/16/northern-ireland/ifa-premiership/institute-fc/cliftonville-fc/1718857/
- ^ a b c d https://ie.soccerway.com/players/ben-doherty/359291/
- ^ "Ben Doherty | Stats | History | Career Details | Images | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football - Extratime.com". www.extratime.com.
- ^ Buttner, Paul (August 27, 2016). "Bray fight back to draw with Derry" – via www.rte.ie.
- ^ "League of Ireland Premier Division: Derry City 3-0 Limerick". July 30, 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "Six of the worst as Danes teach Derry a lesson". Irish Independent. June 30, 2017.
- ^ Donnelly, Dave. "Derry City defender Ben Doherty joins Glenavon on loan". extratime.com.
- ^ "Ben Doherty Goes to Glenavon". August 16, 2018.
- ^ "Confirmed: Coleraine sign Derry City's Ben Doherty in Ciaron Harkin swap deal". December 30, 2018 – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
- ^ ""It was probably the hardest decision of my career to leave at the time."". Derry Journal. January 14, 2024.
- ^ "FT: Ards 1-2 Coleraine" – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "NI League Cup final: Coleraine come from behind to beat Crusaders". February 15, 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "Coleraine 2-2 Motherwell: Scots edge through on penalties". BBC Sport. September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Goal scorer Doherty insists Coleraine still right in the mix despite first leg defeat at Velez". July 9, 2021 – via m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Ben Doherty signs for the Invermen | Larne FC". larnefc.com. July 27, 2021.
- ^ "Irish Premiership: Ben Doherty joins Larne as Aaron McCarey & Jamie McDonagh swap Cliftonville & Glentoran". BBC Sport. July 27, 2021.
- ^ "Larne snap up Ben Doherty from Coleraine". Belfast Live. July 27, 2021.
- ^ "Co Antrim Shield: Impressive Larne see off Linfield in gripping final to retain trophy". January 11, 2022 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Ferry, Gary (January 6, 2023). "Ben Doherty returns to Derry City on a three-year deal". www.ireland-live.ie.
- ^ McLaughlin, Kevin (February 10, 2023). "Derry get better of Hoops to take President's Cup glory" – via www.rte.ie.
- ^ ""We've kept Shelbourne at arm's length and it's up to us to finish the job now."". Derry Journal. October 23, 2023.
- ^ "PFAI Team of Year includes one Shamrock Rovers player". November 15, 2023 – via www.rte.ie.
- ^ "Connolly is suspended while Coll and Doherty are out for the rest of the season". Derry Journal. October 24, 2024.
- ^ "Northern Ireland U21s aiming to make it two out of two". IFA.
- ^ "Northern Ireland - B. Doherty - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
