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Leanne Kiernan

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Leanne Kiernan
Kiernan with Liverpool in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-04-27) 27 April 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Bailieborough, Ireland
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 9
Youth career
Bailieboro Celtic
Kingscourt Harps AFC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Shelbourne 32 (34)
2018–2021 West Ham United 31 (3)
2021– Liverpool 46 (18)
International career‡
2016 Republic of Ireland U17 5 (3)
2017 Republic of Ireland U19 5 (6)
2018– Republic of Ireland 32 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:19, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:37, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Leanne Kiernan (born 27 April 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Women's Super League club Liverpool and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Early life

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Born in Bailieborough in County Cavan, Kiernan attended Bailieborough Community School, where she played for the girls futsal team. She played with Bailieboro Celtic and, at the age of 12, with the boys team at Kingscourt Harps, where she was spotted by FAI scout Mark Leavy and selected for their emerging talent programme.[1] Outside of soccer, Kiernan had been an accomplished cross-country runner, winning the Ulster club juvenile cross-country championship four times with Shercock Athletic Club, and finishing fourth in the Irish U-13 cross-country championships in 2011. She also played Gaelic football for Cavan up to U-16 level. She lived with her family on a pig farm in Killinkere.[2]

Club career

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Shelbourne

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Kiernan joined Shelbourne at the age of 15.[2] On 1 May 2016, she scored the winner for Shelbourne against UCD Waves in the WNL Cup final at Richmond Park.[3] In the 2015–16 season, she scored 5 goals.[4] In 2016, she scored 12 goals[5] and was part of the "invincible" Shelbourne side that won the WNL without losing a single game.[6] On 6 November 2016, she scored a hat-trick against Wexford Youths in the FAI Women's Cup final.[7] In January 2017, she was named Young Player of the Year at 2016 Continental Tyres Women's National League Awards, earning a spot in the Team of the Year as well.[8] The following week, she was also named Sportswoman of the Month for December 2016 by The Irish Times.[3] On 22 August 2017, she made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut in a 0–0 draw with KKPK Medyk Konin. She finished the 2017 season with 9 goals.[9] Kiernan began the 2018 season with 11 goals in her first six games – taking her total to 37 league goals in her three-and-a-half years with Shelbourne – before her departure in July.[10]

West Ham United

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Kiernan playing for West Ham United against Lewes, August 2018

On 18 July 2018, Kiernan signed with West Ham United.[11][12] On 19 August 2018, she made her debut in a 3–1 loss to Arsenal in the FA WSL Cup.[13] On 26 August 2018, she scored her first goal in a 4–1 win over Lewes.[14]

On 21 May 2021 Kiernan left West Ham following the expiry of her contract.[15]

Liverpool

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Kiernan (centre) playing for Liverpool against Lewes, May 2022

On 22 June 2021, Kiernan signed for Liverpool, where she was re-united with her former West Ham manager Matt Beard and was assigned the number 9 jersey.[16] She recovered from shin splints which had disrupted her progress and recaptured her goal scoring form in the 2021–22 FA Women's Championship season.[17] She scored 13 goals for the title-winning Liverpool team who won promotion back to the Women's Super League, and signed a new contract with Liverpool in September 2022.[18] On the opening day of the 2022–23 Women's Super League season, Kiernan suffered an ankle injury in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Chelsea which required surgery and ruled her out for several months.[19]

International career

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Kiernan received a senior call-up in August 2016, first coming into the squad for two challenge matches against Wales in Newport.[3] She scored the winner on her competitive debut, a 2–1 victory against the Basque Country at Tallaght Stadium on 26 November 2016.[20] She was not named in Ireland's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad.[21]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 24 November 2024'[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup [a] League Cup [b] Europe [c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Shelbourne 2016 Women's National League 12 11 3 5 0 0 — 15 16
2017 Women's National League 12 12 0 0 2 1 — 14 13
2018 Women's National League 8 11 0 0 1 0 1 0 10 11
Total 32 34 3 5 3 1 1 0 39 40
West Ham 2018–19 Women's Super League 15 2 0 0 2 1 — 17 3
2019–20 Women's Super League 9 1 0 0 4 2 — 13 3
2020–21 Women's Super League 7 0 0 0 3 2 — 10 2
Total 31 3 0 0 9 5 — 40 8
Liverpool 2021–22 Women's Championship 22 13 2 0 2 1 — 26 14
2022–23 Women's Super League 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
2023–24 Women's Super League 14 5 2 0 3 0 — 19 5
2024–25 Women's Super League 8 0 0 0 2 1 — 10 1
Total 46 18 4 0 7 2 — 57 20
Career total 109 55 7 5 19 8 1 0 136 68
  1. ^ Includes the Women's FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes the FA Women's League Cup
  3. ^ Includes the UEFA Women's Champions League

International

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As of match played 10 April 2024.[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2016 1 0
2017 7 0
2018 7 4
2019 5 0
2020 1 0
2021 2 0
2022 4 0
2023 1 0
2024 4 0
Total 32 4
Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first, score column indicates score after each Kiernan goal.
International goals scored by Leanne Kiernan
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 21 January 2018 Estádio de São Miguel, The Azores, Portugal  Portugal 2–0 3–1 Friendly [24]
2 6 April 2018 Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght, Republic of Ireland  Slovakia 1–0 2–1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualification [25]
3 31 August 2018 Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght, Republic of Ireland  Northern Ireland 1–0 4–0
4 3–0

Honours

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Club

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Shelbourne
Liverpool FC

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ "Congratulations". Bailieborough News. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b Foley, Cliona (9 February 2017). "Lure of pigs and the land still strong for Shelbourne's Leanne Kiernan". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hannigan, Mary (19 January 2017). "Leanne Kiernan – Sportswoman of the Month for December". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Top Scorers - 2015–16 Women's National League". Extratime. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Top Scorers - 2016 Women's National League". Extratime. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Seven things you need to know about Leanne Kiernan". West Ham United F.C. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Shel-shocking the Aviva and a dazzling year in green: Leanne Kiernan's 2016". The42. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Continental Tyres Women's National League Awards Announced". Extratime. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Top Scorers - 2017 Women's National League". Extratime. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  10. ^ Donnelly, Dave (18 July 2018). "Ireland striker Leanne Kiernan joins Women's Super League newcomers West Ham United from Shelbourne". ExtraTime.ie. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  11. ^ "West Ham Ladies sign prolific striker Leanne Kiernan". West Ham United F.C. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Leanne Kiernan: West Ham United Ladies sign Republic of Ireland forward". BBC Sport. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Hammers women edged out in Continental Tyres Cup opener". West Ham United F.C. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  14. ^ "From Leaving Cert to London: The Irish teen prodigy making an impact on both sides of the water". The42. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  15. ^ Fisher, Bethany (21 May 2021). "West Ham announce the departure of eight senior players". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Leanne Kiernan: Liverpool Women sign Republic of Ireland striker from West Ham". Sky Sports. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  17. ^ Cummiskey, Gavin (20 October 2021). "Leanne Kiernan: 'Sometimes you have to take to a step back to take two steps forward'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Ireland striker Kiernan handed new deal at Liverpool". The 42.ie. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Liverpool striker Leanne Kiernan set to miss several months with ankle injury which may require surgery". BBC Sport. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Stephanie Roche on target as Ireland women give Sue Ronan the perfect send-off". The42. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  21. ^ Pyne, Anthony (28 June 2023). "Mannion, Campbell & Kiernan miss out on World Cup". RTÉ Sport.
  22. ^ "Republic of Ireland - L. Kiernan - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  23. ^ "Matches". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Kiernan shines in dominant Portugal victory". FAI. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  25. ^ "Super-sub Barrett secures Slovak win". FAI. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Leanne Kiernan hat-trick secures cup for Shelbourne Ladies". The Irish Times. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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