Matt Doherty (footballer, born 1992)

Matthew James Doherty (born 16 January 1992) is an Irish footballer who plays as a right back for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Matt Doherty
Doherty (left) marking Victor Moses (right) while playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Chelsea in the FA Cup, 2017.
Personal information
Full name Matthew James Doherty[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-16) 16 January 1992
Place of birth Swords, Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Right wing back / Left wing back
Club information
Current team
 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 2
Youth career
Swords Celtic
Home Farm
Belvedere
2009–2010 Bohemians
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010– Wolverhampton Wanderers 251 (20)
2012 → Hibernian (loan) 13 (2)
2012–2013 → Bury (loan) 17 (1)
National team‡
2011–2012 Republic of Ireland U19 6 (0)
2012–2014 Republic of Ireland U21 8 (4)
2018– Republic of Ireland 9 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:17, 2 April 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 07:48, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Doherty was signed by Wolves in 2010, who played his Irish club Bohemians during pre-season. He gained senior football experience with loan spells at Hibernian and Bury, respectively, before beginning to regularly feature in Wolves' first team. After representing Republic of Ireland U21s, Doherty received his first call-up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad in 2016.[2]

Club career

Doherty was spotted by Wolverhampton Wanderers while playing for Bohemians in a pre-season game against them in July 2010.[3] Despite never having played a first team game for Bohs, he was invited for a trial and soon signed a two-year deal (with the option of a further year) to move to the English club for a reported £75,000 fee.[4][5]

The defender made his Wolves debut on 8 January 2011 in an FA Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers,[6] before making his Premier League debut on 24 September 2011 at Liverpool.[7]

In January 2012 Doherty was loaned to Scottish Premier League club Hibernian for the latter part of the 2011–12 season.[8] Here, he played in every defensive position, although his preference was right-back.[9] After making his debut in a 1–0 victory against Kilmarnock on 4 February in the Scottish Cup, he went on to make a total of 17 appearances for the club, in which he scored twice. His final game of the loan spell was the 2012 Scottish Cup Final, against Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts, where Hibs lost 1–5.[10] Doherty's post-match comments in interviews and on Twitter were criticised by some Hibernian fans,[11] and Doherty later apologised for the team's performance.[11]

In October 2012, Doherty was again loaned out, joining League One club Bury in a three-month deal.[12] Two days later, Doherty made his debut for Bury, in a 0–1 defeat to Swindon Town, in the first of 22 appearances for the club. He established himself in the first team, playing in the right-back position and earning praise from manager Kevin Blackwell.[13][14] However financial troubles at Bury meant that their loan players, such as Doherty, were sent back to their parent clubs in January 2013.[15][16]

With Dean Saunders appointed Wolves manager in January 2013, Doherty was soon promoted to becoming the club's regular right-back and he featured throughout the final months of the 2012–13 season as the team battled unsuccessfully to avoid a second consecutive relegation.[17] Under Saunders' successor, Kenny Jackett, Doherty retained his place in the Wolves' team and, in September 2013, signed a new contract.[18]

Doherty's goal against Fulham at Molineux during the 2015–16 campaign was awarded the club's best goal of the season.[19]

On 26 September 2017 it was announced that Doherty had signed a new contract keeping him at Wolves until the summer of 2021.[20] Towards the end of the 2017–18 campaign, Wolves were promoted back to the Premier League after a six-year absence.[21]

Doherty scored his first Premier League goal for Wolves (on his ninth appearance in the Premier League) on 6 October 2018 at Crystal Palace as the team won 1-0.[22] Two days later it was announced that Doherty had won the Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Premier League Player of the Month award for September 2018,[23] becoming only the fourth Ireland player to win this award in the history of the Premier League.[24]

Doherty scored his second Premier League goal for Wolves on his 200th league appearance for the club on 30 November 2018 at Cardiff City in a 2–1 defeat.[25]

It was announced on 15 February 2019 that Doherty had put pen to paper on a new contract that would keep him at Wolverhampton Wanderers until the summer of 2023.[26]

Doherty scored his fourth Premier League goal, and his first Premier League goal to be scored at Molineux, in a 3–1 win over Arsenal, Wolves's first win against Arsenal since 1979, on 24 April 2019.[27]

Doherty scored Wolverhampton Wanderers's first goal in a 4–0 win on his debut appearance in European competition in the UEFA Europa League Qualifying Third Round, 1st Leg, against FC Pyunik in Yerevan, Armenia, on 8 August 2019.[28]

Writing in The Guardian in December 2019, Paul Doyle declared Doherty Wolves' best player of the decade.[29]

International career

Doherty played for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team.[10] In May 2012, he was put on standby for the under-21s.[10]

Doherty received his first call-up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad on 11 March 2016 for Ireland's friendlies against Switzerland and Slovakia.[2] He made his senior debut on 23 March 2018 in a 1–0 defeat to Turkey, coming on as a substitute for captain Séamus Coleman.[30] He featured in an Ireland starting XI for the first time in the Republic's UEFA Nations League match with Denmark in Dublin on 13 October 2018,[31] just days after becoming only the fourth Republic of Ireland player in the history of the Premier League[24] to win the Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Premier League Player of the Month award.[23]

Doherty was also eligible to play for the Netherlands as his mother is Dutch.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 27 June 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2010–11[32] Premier League 001000—10
2011–12[32] 101030—50
2012–13[32] Championship 1310000—131
2013–14[32] League One 18100101[lower-alpha 1]0201
2014–15[32] Championship 3302010—360
2015–16[32] 3421030—382
2016–17[32] 4243120—475
2017–18[32] 4542000—474
2018–19[32] Premier League 3846410—458
2019–20[32] 30420109[lower-alpha 2]3427
Total 2542018512010329428
Hibernian (loan) 2011–12[32] Scottish Premier League 13240——172
Bury (loan) 2012–13[32] League One 17131—2[lower-alpha 1]1223
Total 2842325612012433333
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 16 October 2018[33]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 201850
Total50

International goals
Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first.[33]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.18 November 2019Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland Denmark1–11–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Hibernian

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Individual

References
  1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. "Euro 2016: Trio handed first Republic of Ireland call-up". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. "A comfortable victory". wolves.co.uk. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010.
  4. "Doherty's dream delight". wolves.co.uk. 23 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011.
  5. "Doherty heads to Wolves". Sky Sports. 19 August 2010.
  6. "Doncaster v Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. 8 January 2011.
  7. "Defender keen to improve". wolves.co.uk. 22 September 2011.
  8. "Coventry's O'Donovan and Wolves' Doherty loaned to Hibs". BBC Sport. 31 January 2012.
  9. Strachan, Colleen (6 April 2012). "Defender eager to banish the pain of his costly mistakes when Hibs last clashed with Motherwell". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press.
  10. "Doherty focused on Wolves". Sky Sports. Sky Sports. 27 May 2012.
  11. "Doherty's Disappointment". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 24 May 2012.
  12. "Wolves defender Matt Doherty joins Bury on loan". BBC Sport. 4 October 2012.
  13. "Kevin Blackwell praises young defence as Bury continue good run". BBC Sport. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  14. "Bury boss Kevin Blackwell praises impact of loan players". BBC Sport. 30 October 2012.
  15. "Shakers duo back at Wolves". Sky Sports. 3 January 2013.
  16. "Kevin Blackwell: Bury finances may lead to departures". BBC Sport. 2 January 2013.
  17. "Matt Doherty: "I honestly think we will get promoted... automatic promotion actually"". Birmingham Mail. 12 July 2013.
  18. "Doherty aiming high". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 6 September 2013.
  19. "In pictures: Matt Doherty cleans up at Wolves' end of season awards". www.expressandstar.com.
  20. "Doc's new deal!". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 26 September 2017.
  21. "Wolves promoted to the Premier League". Premier League. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  22. Poole, Harry (6 October 2018). "Doherty earns Wolves three points at Palace". BBC Sport.
  23. Edwards, Joe (8 October 2018). "Wolves' Matt Doherty voted PFA Fans' Player of the Month". Express & Star.
  24. Kinsella, Carl (8 October 2018). "Matt Doherty becomes only the fourth Irish player to win Premier League Player of the Month". joe.ie.
  25. Pritchard, Dafydd (30 November 2018). "Cardiff 2–1 Wolves: Junior Hoilett stunner lifts hosts out of bottom three". BBC Sport.
  26. "Wolves: Conor Coady and Matt Doherty sign new deals until 2023". BBC Sport. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  27. James, Stuart (24 April 2019). "Diogo Jota-inspired Wolves deal fresh blow to Arsenal's top-four hopes". The Guardian.
  28. Poole, Harry (8 August 2019). "Pyunik 0–4 Wolves -- Raul Jimenez scores twice as Wolves dominate in Armenia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  29. "Premier League clubs' best players of the decade". The Guardian. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  30. "New faces fail to inspire Ireland in Turkey". The42.ie. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  31. "Matt Doherty makes first start for Ireland as clash with Denmark gets underway". Irish Examiner. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  32. Matt Doherty at Soccerbase
  33. "Matt Doherty - NFT". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  34. "Hibernian 1–5 Hearts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  35. Anderson, John, ed. (2014). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2014–2015. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-1-4722-1251-1.
  36. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
  37. "Matt Doherty cleans up at Wolves' end of season awards". Express & Star. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  38. "Wolves' Matt Doherty voted PFA Fans' Player of the Month". Express & Star. 8 October 2018.
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