| Alex O'Reilly | |
| Nationality: | 
|
| Rovers apps (gls)1: | 0 (0) |
| Date of birth: | 15 September 1979 |
| Place of birth: | Epping, England |
| Height: | |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Date joined: | March 2001 |
| Joined from: | West Ham United |
| Date left: | May 2001 |
| 1 League appearances and goals only. | |
Alex O'Reilly is a goalkeeper who spent a brief spell with Rovers at the end of the 2000-01 season. He was born in Epping in Essex, and played for the Republic of Ireland at under-18 and under-21 level, qualifying through his dad who was born in Ballymahon, County Longford. He picked up a winners medal at the 1998 European Under-18s tournament, saving a penalty in a final shoot-out against Germany.
Alex did not make any first team appearances for Rovers during his two months at the club, where he was behind Nick Culkin in the pecking order, although he was named on the bench. He was not offered a permanent contract by the club, and left in the summer of 2001 to join Purfleet (now known as Thurrock).
He also has a television career behind him, having played goalkeeper Alex O'Mare in the Sky One drama Dream Team.
Career[]
Alex's footballing career began as a trainee with West Ham United, where he broke through into the pro ranks in 1997. After two years with the Hammers, during which time he had failed to make any first team appearances, he went out on loan to Northampton Town at the start of the 1999-2000 season. He played three times during this spell, playing twice in the league and once in the League Cup. He returned to West Ham towards the end of August 1999, but had made enough of an impact with the Cobblers for them to loan him again in October 1999. After returning to the Hammers again, he made a brief loan move to Wigan Athletic in November 2000, where he didn't feature in the first team, before being allowed to leave on a free transfer to join Bristol Rovers in March 2001.
After being released by Rovers in 2001, Alex's next stop was Purfleet, where he stayed for two years. In 2003 he signed for Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United), before moving to Fisher Athletic. He joined Stevenage Borough at the start of the 2004-05 season, but his stay was extremely brief and he moved to Dagenham & Redbridge early in that campaign. He was loaned to Redbridge by the Daggers for much of the 04-05 season. Following this he spent some time with Harlow Town.
He signed for Irish side Athlone Town in March 2009, and spent most of the 2009 season with them. He missed a number of games through injury, and left shortly before the end of the campaign to take up employment in the UK. He re-joined Thurrock (formerly Purfleet) for the 2010–11 season.
Career stats[]
| Season | Club | League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 1997–98 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 |
| 1999–00 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 |
| 1999–00 | →Northampton Town (loan) | 2 | 0 |
| 1999–00 | →Northampton Town (loan) | 5 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | →Wigan Athletic (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | Bristol Rovers | 0 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Purfleet | ? | ? |
| 2002–03 | Purfleet | ? | ? |
| 2003–04 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 11 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Fisher Athletic | 8 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | Stevenage Borough | 0 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 3 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | →Redbridge (loan) | 10 | 0 |
| 2009 | Athlone Town | ? | ? |
| 2010–11 | Thurrock | ? | ? |