Eoin Doyle

Eoin Doyle (born 12 March 1988) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

During his career he played for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers, Hibernian, Chesterfield, Cardiff City, Preston North End, Portsmouth, Oldham Athletic, Bradford City, Swindon Town, Bolton Wanderers and St Patrick's Athletic.

Doyle was born in Dublin and had a very successful underage career which included playing for the U15 Republic of Ireland national football team.

He first began his sporting career in Gaelic Football from an early age in Dublin.

He then began his underage club career at then Irish champions Shelbourne, however after three years he left for Cherry Orchard in 2001.

He was widely tipped to make the move to English football within a few years as his coaches believed him to be of such a standard.

Following a four-year spell with Dublin club Crumlin United, Doyle returned to Shelbourne who had just been relegated to the League of Ireland First Division.

He was one of new boss Dermot Keely's first signings and was expected to make a large impact at the club.

His time there was cut short and he was released midway through the 2007 season without making his league debut following a disappointing spell for him and the club.

Later on in the 2007 season he signed for Shamrock Rovers.

He was promoted from the U21s to the senior squad during the 2007 season, making his début against Waterford United on 10 August 2007.

In his first full season, 2008 League of Ireland, he netted five goals in 30 league appearances.

His debut league goal coming against Rovers.

It was speculated that he would move to a different club following former manager Pat Scully's departure however he remained at the club for the 2009 season.

He was a substitute for Stephen Bradley in the first game at Tallaght Stadium.

Unfortunately for Doyle he did not become a major player under new Shams manager, Michael O'Neill after the signing of Gary Twigg.

Doyle joined Sligo Rovers on 16 July 2009.

He scored on his debut in a 2–0 win over St. Patrick's Athletic.

He also scored in the 2009 FAI Cup Final at Tallaght Stadium, however Rovers lost the match 2–1 to Sporting Fingal.

Doyle contributed 8 goals during the successful 2010 season that saw Rovers win both domestic cups, the FAI Cup and the EA Sports Cup.

Doyle did very well when forced to play as a centre-forward in the FAI Cup final win and scored one of two penalties in the shoot-out.

The 2011 season proved to be his best to date.

Early on in the season he was moved into the centre-forward position.

He relished the role, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Bray Wanderers and at one stage was the league's leading scorer.

Doyle ended up scoring 25 goals as Rovers finished second in the league and won the 2011 FAI Cup Final.

Doyle scored in the Cup Final penalty shootout, where Rovers ran out victorious 4–1 against Shelbourne.

His contract with Rovers expired at the end of the season.

In December 2011, Doyle played in a closed-doors friendly match for Hibernian.

Doyle signed an 18-month contract with Hibernian later that week.

He made his first team debut in a 3–1 defeat against Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts.

Doyle scored his first goal for Hibs on 7 January, in a Scottish Cup victory at Cowdenbeath.

He scored the only goal of the game in the next round of the Scottish Cup, against Kilmarnock on 4 February.

Doyle did not start a game for more than two months, until an appearance against St Mirren in late April, where he missed some chances as Hibs lost 1–0.

A week later, however, Doyle scored his first league goal for Hibs during a 4–0 victory against Dunfermline, which secured Hibs' place in the SPL.

BBC Radio Sheffield reported on 3 April 2013 that Doyle had agreed to sign for English Football League Two club Chesterfield.

Shortly after this announcement, Doyle scored the equaliser in the Scottish Cup semi-final, in which Hibernian overcame Falkirk 4–3 after extra time after having initially been behind 3–0.

Doyle played his last match for Hibs in the 2013 Scottish Cup Final defeat by Celtic.

Following his agreement to sign for Chesterfield in April 2013, Doyle formally signed for the club on 31 May.

Doyle said that the presence of manager Paul Cook, who had worked with him at Sligo Rovers, was an important factor in his decision to join Chesterfield.

Doyle scored 13 goals in all competitions in his first season with the club, in a season that saw the club promoted to League One and reach the Football League Trophy Final.