Liam Boyce

Liam Boyce
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-04-08) 8 April 1991
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Burton Albion
Number 27
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Cliftonville 52 (18)
2010–2011 Werder Bremen II 3 (0)
2012–2014 Cliftonville 85 (51)
2014–2017 Ross County 99 (48)
2017– Burton Albion 0 (0)
National team‡
2008–2009 Northern Ireland U19 6 (1)
2010–2012 Northern Ireland U21 9 (0)
2011– Northern Ireland 9 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:59, 20 June 2017 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 June 2017

Liam Boyce (born 8 April 1991) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays for English club Burton Albion as a striker. Boyce began his career at Cliftonville and returned to the club following a short spell at Werder Bremen II. He also played for Ross County. Boyce has also represented the Northern Ireland national football team.

Club career

Cliftonville

Boyce began his career at Cliftonville, scoring 19 goals in his debut season.[1] He won the IFA Premiership Player of the Month Award for April 2010,[2] and was named the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Player of the Year for the 2009–10 season.[1] Boyce is from the Lower Falls in Belfast. He played for Immaculata for most of his youth years, during this time he attended St Joseph's Primary School Slate Street and St Mary's Grammar School, located on the Glen Road in Belfast, he spent all his secondary school years there and went on to study A Levels.

As his ability and skills in his football career developed he was spotted by Cliftonville, and they signed him. He spent his first year there playing in the reserves but in the 2009–10 season, Boyce became a first team regular.

Boyce went on trial with Scottish club Celtic in July 2010,[1] and then held discussions in mid-August 2010 about a move to German club SpVgg Greuther Fürth.[3] However, the move collapsed a few days later.[4]

Werder Bremen

Boyce eventually signed for another German club, Werder Bremen, on 31 August 2010.[5] He was released by the German club in October 2011, having only made three appearances for the club's reserves side.

Return to Cliftonville

Boyce rejoined Cliftonville in January 2012.[6] In the 2012–13 season, he helped Cliftonville win the league title for the first time since 1998, finishing as the league's top scorer with 29 league goals. He was also named as the 2012–13 Ulster Footballer of the Year[7] and Northern Ireland Football Writers' Player of the Year.[8] He won a second league title with the north Belfast club in 2013–14, scoring another 21 league goals before, in July 2014, the club announced that it had withdrawn its offer of a new contract to Boyce.[9]

Ross County

On 13 June 2014, it was announced Boyce had signed a pre-contract with Ross County.[10] On 13 April 2015, Boyce scored County's first ever top-flight hat-trick in a 3–0 win at St Mirren.[11] He then enjoyed a prolific season in 2015/16, scoring 17 goals in 24 games.[12] Boyce signed a new contract with County in February 2016.[12] He was the top goalscorer in the 2016–17 Scottish Premiership, with 23 goals.[13][14]

Burton Albion

On 20 June 2017, Boyce became a club record signing for EFL Championship side Burton Albion, agreeing a three-year contract with the club.[15] Just weeks later, however, Boyce suffered a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for most of the 2017–18 season.[16]

International career

Boyce was selected to play for the Northern Ireland national under-21 football team. On 31 January 2011, Liam Boyce received his first senior call-up to the Northern Ireland squad to appear in the Nations Cup.[17] This call-up came after his move to German club Werder Bremen in September 2010. On 9 February 2011, Boyce made his debut against Scotland in which he came on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Niall McGinn. He received his second call-up for Northern Ireland's Group C clash with Serbia in Belgrade on 25 March 2011.

On 2 June 2017, Boyce scored his first goal for Northern Ireland in a 1–0 friendly victory over New Zealand at Windsor Park.[18]

Career statistics

As of 28 May 2017[19]
Club Season Division League Cups Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cliftonville 2008–09 Irish Premiership 151–151
2009–10 3416–3416
2010–11 31–31
Total 5218––5218
Werder Bremen II 2010–11 3. Liga 30–30
2011–12 ––00
Total 30––30
Cliftonville 2011–12 Irish Premiership 13110141
2012–13 3629834432
2013–14 3621424023
Total 85511359856
Ross County 2014–15 Scottish Premiership 3010313311
2015–16 3515754220
2016–17 3423614024
Total 994816710555
Career total 2391172912268129

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.[19]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 June 2017 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  New Zealand 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Honours

Club

Cliftonville

Ross County

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cliftonville striker Liam Boyce on trial at Celtic". BBC Sport. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Cliftonville striker Liam Boyce named player of month". BBC Sport. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  3. ↑ "Liam Boyce could be bound for German Bundesliga". BBC Sport. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Liam Boyce's proposed transfer appears to be doomed". BBC Sport. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Liam Boyce agrees transfer to Werder Bremen". BBC Sport. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Cliftonville set to beat Glentoran in battle to sign Liam Boyce". BBC Sport. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Cliftonville Football Club". cliftonvillefc.net.
  8. ↑ "BBC Sport – Liam Boyce wins Football Writers Player of the Year award". BBC Sport.
  9. ↑ "BBC Sport – Cliftonville withdraw Liam Boyce contract offer". BBC Sport.
  10. ↑ "Cliftonville striker Liam Boyce agrees move to Ross County". BBC Sport. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Boyce hat-trick in Ross County win at St Mirren". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Liam Boyce extends contract with Ross County until 2018". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership: Inverness relegated". Sporting Life. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Ross County have no interest in selling Liam Boyce – Jim McIntyre". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  15. ↑ "BREWERS SIGN STRIKER IN RECORD-BREAKING DEAL". Burton Albion Official Site. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Fullteron, Gareth (1 August 2017). "Belfast Live". Liam Boyce ruled out for majority of season after rupturing anterior cruciate ligament. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  17. ↑ "NI SQUAD NAMED FOR SCOTLAND GAME". The Irish Football Association. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  18. ↑ "International friendly: Northern Ireland 1-0 New Zealand – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Soccerway – Liam Boyce". soccerway.com. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  20. ↑ Wilson, Richard (13 March 2016). "Scottish League Cup Final: Hibernian 1 Ross County 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
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