Liam Coyle

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Liam Coyle (born 21 May 1968 in Derry) was a Northern Irish footballer who plied his trade with Derry City F.C. of the League of Ireland from 1988 until 2003. He is remembered for scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Cobh Ramblers on 6 November, 1988. Like his father, Fay, who also played with Derry, Coyle played internationally for Northern Ireland. He appeared in the green jersey on one occasion against Chile in 1989. Coyle was a firm fan-favourite at the Brandywell among the Derry City faithful. One of the club's most gifted players ever, he was a target of Manchester United and Sven-Göran Eriksson at Benfica during his early years until a serious knee injury hampered any potential move and almost brought his career to an end at the age of 21. After the injury, Coyle temporarily retired from the game, but kick-started his career again at Omagh Town FC and Coleraine FC before returning to his home city's club. In 1995 he left Derry for Glentoran FC during an unsettled spell, but returned once again the following season after winng an Irish Cup winning medal.

Since the entry of the club into League of Ireland football, Coyle is Derry's top scorer with 112 goals to his name after 390 competitive appearances.