Pierce Sweeney

Pierce Liam Sweeney (born 11 September 1994) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One side Exeter City.

Pierce Sweeney
Personal information
Full name Pierce Liam Sweeney[1]
Date of birth (1994-09-11) 11 September 1994
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Exeter City
Number 26
Youth career
2006–2012 Belvedere
2012 Bray Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Bray Wanderers 12 (0)
2012–2016 Reading 0 (0)
2016–2021 Exeter City 186 (17)
2021 Swindon Town 0 (0)
2021– Exeter City 50 (1)
International career‡
2010–2011 Republic of Ireland U17 2 (0)
2011–2013 Republic of Ireland U19 6 (0)
2013 Republic of Ireland U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:10, 16 September 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:00, 1 August 2016 (UTC)

Career

Schoolboy Football

Sweeney began his career at Ardmore Rovers in his hometown of Bray, before moving on to the under-13 level with Belvedere.[3]

Bray Wanderers

In 2012, Sweeney joined League of Ireland Premier Division side Bray Wanderers. He made 12 appearances for the Seagulls during the 2012 season.

Reading

On 6 July 2012, Sweeney signed with then-Premier League side Reading. Although he was a member of Reading's Under 21 2013-14 Premier League Cup-winning side, on 9 May 2016, Sweeney was released by Reading without having made a first-team appearance for the club.[4]

Exeter City

On 22 July 2016, Sweeney signed with Exeter City as the 1931 Fund fan-funded player after a successful trial.[5] He scored two goals and an assist in Exeter's 5–1 defeat of Notts County on 8 September 2018,[6] and had already scored two additional goals before the end of September 2018.

Swindon Town

On 11 June 2021, Sweeney signed a two-year deal with Swindon Town to begin on 1 July 2021,[7] after rejecting an offer from Exeter City.[8] His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 2 July 2021, with Sweeney stating that 'due to family circumstances at this current moment I am unable to fulfil relocating to be part of the team'.[9]

Exeter City return

Following his abrupt departure from Swindon, Sweeney returned to Exeter City on 8 July 2021.[10][11] He was vice-captain as Exeter secured a return to League One for the first time since 2012. In June 2022, Sweeney signed a new two-year deal with the club.[12]

On 14th January 2023, in his first match as club captain following the departure of Matt Jay, Sweeney made his 300th appearance for Exeter in all competitions.[13]

International career

Sweeney has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-U17, under-U19, and under-U21 levels.[14]

Career statistics
As of match played 29 December 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League National Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bray Wanderers 2012[14] LOI Premier Division 12000001[lower-alpha 1]0130
Reading 2012–13[15] Premier League 000000—00
2013–14[16] Championship 000000—00
2014–15[17] 000000—00
2015–16[18] 000000—00
Total 000000—00
Exeter City 2016–17[19] EFL League Two 29010205[lower-alpha 2]0370
2017–18[20] 40841104[lower-alpha 3]0499
2018–19[21] 43410101[lower-alpha 4]0464
2019–20[22] 36240117[lower-alpha 5]0483
2020–21[23] 38320002[lower-alpha 4]0423
2021–22[24] 43020103[lower-alpha 4]0490
2022–23[25] EFL League One 21120202[lower-alpha 4]0271
Total 250181618124029820
Career total 262181618125031120
  1. Appearance in Setanta Sports Cup
  2. Three appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in EFL League Two play-offs
  3. One appearance in EFL Trophy, three appearances in EFL League Two play-offs
  4. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  5. Four appearances in EFL Trophy, three appearances in EFL League Two play-offs

Honours

Club
Reading

Exeter City

Individual

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Exeter City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 26. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. "Pierce Sweeney - Defender - First Team - Exeter City". Exeter City F.C. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. "Pierce Sweeney Interview (Ireland U19 Player Of The Year)". Belvedere Football Club. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. "Ex-Bray Wanderers Player Pierce Sweeney Released By Reading". League of Ireland. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. "Exeter City: Defender Pierce Sweeney signs permanent deal". BBC Sport. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. "Exeter City: Harry Kewell sent off in first league game in charge of Notts Country". BBC Sport. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  7. Leighfield, Jonathan (11 June 2021). "Swindon Town sign defender Pierce Sweeney on two-year deal". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. Clark, Daniel (11 June 2021). "Pierce Sweeney signs for Swindon Town after turning down Exeter City contract extension". Devon Live. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  9. "Pierce Sweeney: Defender leaves Swindon Town less than a month after joining the club". BBC Sport. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  10. "✍️ Welcome back, Pierce Sweeney". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 8 July 2021.
  11. "Defender Sweeney rejoins Exeter City" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. "✍️ Pierce Sweeney pens new deal". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  13. https://www.devonlive.com/sport/football/football-news/pierce-sweeney-exeter-citys-new-8034046.amp. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "P. Sweeney Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  15. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  16. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  17. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  18. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  19. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  20. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  21. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  22. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  23. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  24. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  25. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  26. "Port Vale end Exeter's League two title hopes". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
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