Patrick James Hoban (born 28 July 1991) is an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He had his greatest successes in two spells at

, where he scored over 100 goals in total. He finished as top scorer as they won the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, and won another title in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Career

Early career

Born in Loughrea,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, to an English mother, Hoban played both

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and football as a youth. He represented his town at hurling and

Mervue United Mervue United A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Mervue, Galway. Their senior men's team currently plays in the Galway & District League. The club has previously fielded teams in the Connacht Senior League, the League of Ir ...

in football, who he helped to win promotion from the A Championship to the League of Ireland with a 5–2 aggregate victory over Kildare County in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

play-off final. In July 2010, Hoban journeyed to England after being offered to train with Championship club

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, managed by

Steve Coppell Stephen James Coppell (born 9 July 1955) is an English professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and rep ...

and having just signed England international goalkeeper

David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...

. In November he signed a one-year contract, along fellow 19-year-old Irishman

Jimmy Keohane James Clifford John Keohane (born 22 January 1991) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Rochdale. Playing career Keohane began his football career in with youth teams Belvedere and Evergreen. Wexford Youths In 2009, ...

. He scored regularly for the Robins'

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

but did not break into the first team, being loaned to local non-league team Clevedon Town before being released.

Dundalk

Hoban returned to Mervue United and then moved to

side

in 2013. In his first season at Oriel Park, he scored 15 times as the Lilywhites came runners-up to

St. Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

; this included a hat-trick on 12 July in a 3–0 home win over

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. He was top scorer with 20 goals as they won the 2014 title, their first for 19 years. On 24 July that year, he scored the winning goal in their 2–1 win away to

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

in the second leg of the second qualifying round of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, but they lost 3–2 on aggregate to the Croatians. The team also won the League of Ireland Cup with a 3–2 victory over

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

on 19 September, Hoban scoring their third goal to seal a first trophy in 12 years.

Oxford United

Hoban signed with English

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

in November 2014, having turned down the chance to play on trial at

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

club

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. The contract did not take effect until 1 January. He made his professional debut on 17 January 2015 in a 3–2 home loss to Southend United, replacing

Cheyenne Dunkley Cheyenne Armani Keanu Roma "Chey" Dunkley (born 13 February 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Shrewsbury Town. Club career Early career Born in Wolverhampton, Dunkley joined Crewe Alexandra's youth setup i ...

at half time. Hoban totalled 20 appearances that season for the U's, mostly starting, but scored just once to open a 2–1 comeback win over

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

at the

Kassam Stadium The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam. The Kassam Stadium currently hosts League One (third t ...

on 28 March. Having scored three times in 43 League appearances (26 of them as a substitute) he joined

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

in the same division on a month's loan on 1 February 2016. He played his one game for them on 6 February, starting in a 1–0 home to Crawley Town and having a good opportunity to score saved by

Jamie Jones Jamie Jones may refer to: * Jamie Jones (DJ), Welsh DJ, producer and two-time DJ Awards winner * Jamie Jones (footballer) (born 1989), English professional footballer for Wigan Athletic * Jamie Jones (snooker player) (born 1988), Welsh professional ...

. On 1 March 2016, Hoban joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side Grimsby Town on loan until the end of the season. He played in Grimsby's 3–1 victory over Forest Green Rovers in the

2016 National League play-off Final The 2016 National League play-off Final, known as the 2016 Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship purposes, was an association football match between Forest Green Rovers and Grimsby Town on 15 May 2016 at Wembley Stadium in Lond ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, seeing the Mariners

promoted Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

after a six-year absence from

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. Hoban did not score in his 14 total appearances, and was not retained when his loan expired. He was released by Oxford at the end of the season.

Mansfield Town

Following his release from Oxford, Hoban stayed in League Two and joined

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

in June 2016. He made his debut on 6 August as they began the season with a 3–2 win at Newport County, playing the final six minutes in place of

Matt Green Matthew Green may refer to: * Matthew Green (British politician) (born 1970), British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Ludlow *Matthew Green (Canadian politician) (born 1980) NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre and former Hamilton ...

, and on 1 October he scored his first goal for the Stags, opening a 1–1 draw at Crewe Alexandra by heading

Kevan Hurst Kevan James Hurst (born 27 August 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Currently Joint Manager of Belper Town Tornadoes Under 8's. Career Hurst was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. A versatile player, he can p ...

's cross. On 10 January 2017, Hoban scored both goals in the final six minutes as Mansfield defeated Oldham Athletic in the third round of the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a Football pitch, football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town F.C., Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in ...

. He was released at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Return to Dundalk

On 24 November 2017 Hoban rejoined Dundalk. The following 11 February he played in the FAI President's Cup, a 4–2 home loss to Cork City, filling in for the last 23 minutes in place of Krisztián Adorján. On 19 July, in the Europa League first qualifying round second leg, he scored in a 2–1 (3–1 aggregate) win over Estonia's

Levadia Tallinn Football Club Infonet Levadia Tallinn, commonly known as FCI Levadia, or simply as Levadia, is a professional football club based in Tallinn, Estonia, that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home grou ...

. Hoban was voted League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month in June 2018 after scoring five goals in four games that month, including three in a 4–0 home win over

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

on 8 June. On 5 October, he scored a late equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

to win Dundalk's 13th league title. He finished the season as top scorer with 29 goals but left the last league game injured, causing concern over whether he would play the FAI Cup Final against Cork City. On 9 February, Hoban scored as Dundalk defeated Cork 2–1 at Turners Cross to win the 2019 President of Ireland's Cup. He was sent off on 3 May in a 2–2 home draw with

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, after having scored twice. Dundalk retained their league title, and Hoban was the second highest scorer with 13 goals, one behind

Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe Junior Chukwuemeka Ogedi-Uzokwe also known as Junior (born 3 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward, for NIFL Premiership side Glentoran. Ogedi-Uzokwe was a member of the youth teams at Leyton Orient, Ilford ...

of Derry. Dundalk also won the League Cup, with Hoban scoring four times in a 6–1 win over

in the semi-final on 19 August. Additionally, he scored the last goal of a 6–0 win (7–1 aggregate) over Northern Irish champions Linfield in the Champions Cup on 11 November. On 16 October 2019, Hoban signed a contract for two more seasons at Dundalk. On 6 March 2020, Hoban scored twice in a 4–0 win at

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

to reach 100 Irish top-flight goals, the 44th player to reach that landmark. His 100th goal in all competitions for Dundalk came on 31 July, in a 1–1 home draw with St Patrick's. In the 2020 Europa League third qualifying round, he scored in the penalty shoot-out against

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff (russian: ФК Шериф Тирасполь), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnist ...

helping Dundalk qualify for the playoffs. Dundalk went on to qualify for the

2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage began on 22 October 2020 and ended on 10 December 2020. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. Antwerp, G ...

and he scored the opening goal but lost 4–3 against

Rapid Vienna Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

in the

. In the 2021–22 Europa Conference League 3rd round qualifiers He scored 1 goal against

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

, but lost 2–1.

Career statistics

Honours

;Dundalk *

* League of Ireland Cup:

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

* Champions Cup:

;Grimsby Town *

play-offs:

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;Individual *

top scorer:

* League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month: July 2013, October 2014, June 2018

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoban, Patrick 1991 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football forwards Expatriate footballers in England Mervue United A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Clevedon Town F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Southern Football League players League of Ireland players English Football League players Association footballers from County Galway A Championship players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish people of English descent