Jake Walker (Irish footballer)

Jake Walker (born 19 August 2000) is an Irish footballer who plays for League of Ireland First Division club Bray Wanderers, having previously played for St Patrick's Athletic and Crumlin United.

Jake Walker
Personal information
Full name Jake Walker
Date of birth (2000-08-19) 19 August 2000
Place of birth Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Bray Wanderers
Number 19
Youth career
2017–2019 St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 St Patrick's Athletic 23 (1)
2020–2022 Crumlin United
2023– Bray Wanderers 21 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 September 2023

Club career

Early career

Walker signed for the St Patrick's Athletic Under-17 side in January 2017.[1] He played in the same Under 19s team as fellow future first team players including Brian Maher, Joe Manley, Paul Clearly and Luke McNally. In 2018, his side got to the Enda McGuill Cup final, unfortunately losing out 2–1 to Bohemians at Richmond Park on 4 September.[2]

St Patrick's Athletic

Walker made his debut for the St Patrick's Athletic first team on 8 August 2017 when he came off the bench for Josh O'Hanlon for the last 2 minutes of a 2–1 Leinster Senior Cup win over Firhouse Clover at Richmond Park.[3][4] He did not feature in the 2018 season with forward options including Christy Fagan, Jake Keegan and Achille Campion at the dispense of manager Liam Buckley. His next involvement with the first team came on 18 February 2019 when he came off the bench for the injured Gary Shaw in a 3–0 Leinster Senior Cup win over Wexford, with Walker heading home a James Doona cross after 58 minutes to put his side 2 goals in front.[5] That performance impressed manager Harry Kenny enough to promote him from the Under-19s team to the first team squad for the season 3 days later, on 21 February.[6] His League of Ireland debut came on 5 April 2019, coming on for Gary Shaw in injury time of a 1–0 win at home to champions Dundalk.[7] His first professional contract came when he signed a 2-year contract with the club on 11 April 2019.[8] Walker made 10 more substitute appearances in a row before coming off the bench and scoring the winner against Finn Harps on 14 June with 7 minutes to go, the first league goal of his senior career.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] This performance earned Walker a place in the starting 11 as he started the next 3 games, away to UCD,[16] at home to Shamrock Rovers in the Dublin derby[17] and an important win away to Waterford.[18] His first appearance in Europe came on 11 July 2019 as he came off the bench against IFK Norrköping of Sweden, as Pats lost 2–0 at Richmond Park.[19] On 22 October 2019 Walker came off the bench away to Derry City in the 69th minute with the scores level and brilliantly set up two goals for fellow substitute James Doona to secure a 3–1 win for the Saints at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.[20] Walker scored the third goal in a 4–0 win over Athlone Town in the 2019 Leinster Senior Cup Final on 16 November 2019, claiming the first silverware of his senior career.[21] After making 1 appearance in the 2020 season before the league was postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was announced on the 3rd August 2020 that Walker had left the club.[22]

Crumlin United

After leaving Pat's, Walker played for Leinster Senior League side Crumlin United from 2020 to 2022 where he excelled to the extent that he was the league's top goalscorer during his time there.[23]

Bray Wanderers

On 12 December 2022, it was announced that Walker had signed for League of Ireland First Division club Bray Wanderers ahead of their 2023 season.[24]

Career statistics

Professional appearances – correct as of 4 August 2020.[25]

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Patrick's Athletic 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division 0000001[lower-alpha 1]010
2018 0000000[lower-alpha 1]000
2019 22110001[lower-alpha 2]04[lower-alpha 1]2283
2020 100010
St Patrick's Athletic Total 23110001052303
Career Total 23110001052303
  1. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

References

  1. "Extratime.ie - Jake Walker". www.extratime.ie.
  2. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2018 U19 Cup Final - St Patrick's Ath U19 -v- Bohemians U19". www.extratime.ie.
  3. FC, St Patrick's Athletic (8 August 2017). "88' | Another debut for Saints with U17 striker Jake Walker on to replace Josh O'Hanlon, 1-0pic.twitter.com/iJgxh8Uofh".
  4. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 Leinster Senior Cup Quarter Finals - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Firhouse Clover". www.extratime.ie.
  5. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 Leinster Senior Cup Fourth Round - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Wexford". www.extratime.ie.
  6. FC, St Patrick's Athletic (21 February 2019). "#SaintsAcademy player Jake Walker has been added to our #Saints2019 1st team squad for the 2019 season. He joined our U17s in 2017 & scored his 1st senior goal in Monday's Leinster Senior Cup win over Wexford. He can still play for our U19s too #WelcomeJake #Saints2019 pic.twitter.com/FoDIPzE3Xa".
  7. "St Patrick's Athletic vs. Dundalk - 5 April 2019 - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
  8. FC, St Patrick's Athletic (11 April 2019). ""It Feels Great, It's Something I Always Wanted To Achieve" - #SaintsAcademy striker Jake Walker has signed a 2 year pro contract with the club. He's already scored in LSC v Wexford & made his league debut v Dundalk last Friday. He's been talking to us about the news pic.twitter.com/Gb6oqWQluE".
  9. "Republic of Ireland - J. Walker - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
  10. "Jake Walker picks a fine time to score his first league goal for St Patrick's". The Irish Times.
  11. "Jake Walker the unlikely hero for St Pat's against Finn Harps". Independent.ie.
  12. Gallagher, Aaron. "Walker's 83rd-minute strike breaks Harps hearts as St Pat's snatch victory late on". The42.
  13. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Finn Harps". www.extratime.ie.
  14. "Walker scores first career goal to hand St. Pat's dramatic win over Finn Harps". www.donegaldemocrat.ie.
  15. AM, Paul Buttner-15 June 2019 03:00. "Jackpot for Walker as Pat's quell Harps". Herald.ie.
  16. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division - UCD -v- St. Patrick's Athletic". www.extratime.ie.
  17. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Shamrock Rovers". www.extratime.ie.
  18. "Waterford Vs St Patricks Athletic - SSE Airtricity League". Sseairtricityleague.ie. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  19. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019/2020 Europa League First Qualifying Round - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Norrkoping". www.extratime.ie.
  20. "SSE Airtricity League". Archived from the original on 23 October 2019.
  21. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2019 Leinster Senior Cup Final - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Athlone Town". www.extratime.com.
  22. O'Hehir, Paul (3 August 2020). "O'Donnell pleased with new Saints signings ahead of Derry clash". Irish Mirror.
  23. Stapleton, Jonny (30 June 2022). "Leinster Senior League: Crumlin hitman 'not too good for LSL".
  24. https://twitter.com/braywanderers/status/1602301448179830784?s=46&t=aDQCYr_zRQW6NXrV7H68nA
  25. "Republic of Ireland – J.Walker". Ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
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