Sean Clohessy

Sean David Clohessy (born 12 December 1986) is an English former footballer who played as a defender.

Having risen through the Arsenal Academy, he continued his development with Gillingham, where he made his professional debut.

Clohessy moved to Gillingham in 2005 to continue his development, as he went on to make his professional debut in a Football League Trophy tie with Wycombe Wanderers on 22 November 2005.

He played for 104 minutes in the match which ended 3–1 to Wycombe following a penalty shoot-out.

The score after normal time was 2–2.

He made his Football League debut four days later as Gillingham fell to a 5–0 defeat to Colchester United.

He didn't feature for the club for one month until he came on as a half-time substitute for Jon Wallis on 26 December in a 1–1 draw with Bristol City.

He scored his first professional goal on 31 December, netting the second goal in a 3–0 win over Milton Keynes Dons at Priestfield.

In early 2006, Clohessy became a regular fixture in the first-team, making 17 appearances between January and May.

However, during this time he received the first red card of his career when he was sent off for violent conduct during a 3–2 win at home to Brentford on 21 March.

Despite this, he was awarded a three-year professional contract in May 2006 by manager Ronnie Jepson.

Despite showing signs of promise during his first season with the Gills, Clohessy could only muster six League One appearances in his second season.

He once again featured regularly in the early stages of the 2007–08 season, but fell out of favour in the new year.

He had a successful loan spell with Salisbury City during the 2008–09 season, and joined the club on a permanent basis the following season.

After one year with the Whites, he joined league rivals Bath City, but soon left to sign a contract with Southend United.

He spent three years at Southend, making over 150 appearances in all competitions.

This was compounded when he received a red card for a second bookable offence in a 4–2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on 4 March 2008.

He made his final Gillingham appearance on 24 March 2008 in a 2–1 defeat to Port Vale.

In September 2008, Clohessy was allowed to leave Gillingham and join Conference Premier side Salisbury City on trial.

After featuring in a number of the club's reserve games, Salisbury signed him on a one-month loan contract on 18 September.

He made a memorable debut for the Whites on 20 September, scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with York City.

Despite a winless run of games for Salisbury, Clohessy had done enough to warrant a loan extension until mid-December.

He scored his second goal of the campaign on 30 October, doubling the lead in a 2–0 win over Crawley Town, ending the club's run of seven straight defeats.

With the club and coach Tommy Widdrington keen to keep Clohessy until the end of the season, it was announced on 21 December that he had signed on loan until the end of the season.

Clohessy announced in March 2009 that he expected to leave Gillingham at the end of the 2008–09 season, owing to his strained relationship with Gills manager Mark Stimson.

Days later, he scored the only goal of the game in a victory over Ebbsfleet United on 24 March.

He made a total of 36 Conference appearances, scoring three times during his loan spell.

Gillingham announced that they would not be renewing Clohessy's contract in April 2009.

After a successful spell during the 2008–09 season, he signed a short-term deal with Salisbury on 29 July 2009.

He made his second debut for the club on 8 August when Salisbury beat Rushden & Diamonds 2–0 at Nene Park.

In total, Clohessy made 40 appearances across all competitions for the Whites during the 2009–10 season.

Salisbury ended the season mid-table, but were demoted after failing to exit administration.

He scored his first of two goals of the campaign on 13 February 2010 in a 2–0 win against Grays Athletic, and the second came in a 4–1 victory at home to Altrincham on 20 April.

The club would start the 2010–11 season in the Southern League.

On 6 July 2010, Clohessy signed for Bath City on a one-year contract, becoming Bath's third summer recruit from Salisbury.

He followed in the footsteps of teammates Danny Webb and Luke Ruddick.

He left the club in 2013 to join Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock.

He spent one season with Killie before returning to England to sign for Colchester United.

Born in Croydon, London, Clohessy began his career with Arsenal, where he progressed through the club's academy system.

He competed with Kerrea Gilbert for the right-back position in the youth and reserve team.