Jon Connolly (born 3 April 1981) is a Scottish football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

and is currently the goalkeeping coach at Annan Athletic. Connolly has previously played in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

for

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

Career

Connolly began his senior career in the Academy system at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

but returned to Scotland to sign for

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scot ...

in February 1998, making eight league appearances in the

Scottish Football League Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) f ...

before the end of the season. After leaving Rovers, he dropped to Junior level with Thorniewood United before being signed by manager Billy Davies for

in the summer of 2000. With Motherwell releasing a number of high-earning first team players including

Andy Goram Andrew Lewis Goram (13 April 1964 – 2 July 2022) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Bury, Lancashire, England, he started his career with Oldham Athletic and Hibernian, but he is best remembered for playing for Ra ...

, Connolly found himself as second choice keeper at Fir Park behind Stevie Woods. He made his

debut in April 2001 against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...

at Tannadice and retained his place in the team for the following weeks match against

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

. These proved to be his only first team appearances for Motherwell and Connolly left the club on the eve of the January 2002 transfer window, signing for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

until the end of the season. A year at

Cumnock Juniors Cumnock Juniors Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Cumnock, Ayrshire. The Nock play their home games at Townhead Park and compete in the West of Scotland Football League. History Birthed in 1912, they have a history of local ...

was followed by another

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km so ...

spell with East Stirlingshire in 2003–04 where he made nineteen league appearances. After leaving Shire, Connolly has enjoyed a peripatetic career in Junior football. In recent years, he joined

Kilwinning Rangers Kilwinning Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kilwinning, Ayrshire. Formed in 1899, the club competes in the West of Scotland Football League, and are eligible to participate in the Scottish Cup. Nicknam ...

in May 2013 before moving on to

Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''The Rabs'' or ''The Roy'', they were formed in 1878. They wear red and black strips and currently compete in t ...

in January 2014. Connolly signed for Vale of Clyde in the summer of 2014 and had short stints at Rossvale and St. Anthony's before joining East Superleague side

Fauldhouse United Fauldhouse United Football Club are a Scottish football club based at Park View in Fauldhouse, West Lothian. The club won the Scottish Junior Cup in 1946 and currently play in the East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Foo ...

in October 2016. Connolly was appointed as player-manager of Fauldhouse in February 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Jon Living people 1981 births Scottish footballers Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Association football goalkeepers Scottish football managers Albion Rovers F.C. players Thorniewood United F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Cumnock Juniors F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. players Linlithgow Rose F.C. players Larkhall Thistle F.C. players Bo'ness United F.C. players Fauldhouse United F.C. players Cambuslang Rangers F.C. players St Anthony's F.C. players Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Dunipace F.C. players Kilwinning Rangers F.C. players Vale of Clyde F.C. players Rossvale F.C. players