Full time result: Longford Town 0-1 Galway United! #GUFC— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) June 12, 2015 609455401977966594 is not a valid tweet id
75' GOALLLLLL!!! 3-1!!! It's a @jake__keegan hat-trick. #GUFC pic.twitter.com/tS6XdslNOv— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) July 11, 2015 #USA #USA #USA— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) July 11, 2015
Keegan went 120 and converted a PK in the shootout in the semis of the League of Ireland Cup. Will face Morgan Langley's St Pat's in the final.
Snip: The Tribesmen are back in a final for the first time in 18 years having eliminated Dundalk on penalties on Monday. And they will face St Patrick’s Athletic in the September 19 showpiece, which could yet be staged at their own Eamonn Deacy Park. The Saints have beaten Galway twice in the league this season but American striker Keegan says form goes out the window in a one-off game. “It’s great for the people of Galway and you could see how much it means to everybody with the kids running on the pitch at the end - it was a great result, we defended superbly,” he said. Galway were ravaged by injuries and could only name four subs but Keegan, who scored a penalty in the shootout, added: “It says a lot about our character.” http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/galway-united-star-jake-keegan-6199203
10th league goal of the season for Jake just now. Could be an important goal. 18' GOALLLL!! Jake Keegan scores his 10th league goal of the season. #gufc pic.twitter.com/ZxemSTmwex— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) September 5, 2015
And another! Jake is now joint 2nd top scorer in the league and has scored as many as the league top scorer if you exclude penalties, of which Keegan has had none. 60' GOALL!!!!!!! Jake Keegan scores again! #gufc #USA pic.twitter.com/Lv9DpscadJ— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) September 5, 2015 That's @jake__keegan's 15th goal of the season in all competitions. #gufc— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) September 5, 2015
Hattrick 70' GOALLLLLL!! Hat-trick for @jake__keegan. Unbelievable. #USA #gufc pic.twitter.com/uxsVHp0371— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) September 5, 2015 That's @jake__keegan's second hat-trick of the season. #gufc— Gaillimh Aontaithe 🇱🇻 (@GalwayUnitedFC) September 5, 2015
That's 16 goals in a 27-games-played season, and for a relegation-struggler too (six points seperate bottom from 7th in the 12-team D1). Genuinely impressive. He must have attracted some attention from the UK lower divisions by now. Hopefully the WP won't be an issue.
Like everyone else, he'll be a free agent in November, but I dunno if he'll get a move to the Football League.
Since the WP regs apply to all levels, he would have a dickens of a time catching on in the UK. Better head to the continent.
Some dude starring in a European league wants to finish his career in MLS: Keegan is open to extending his stay in Ireland, before getting a crack at MLS. “I’m happy to keep playing in Ireland but in the long term I’d very much like to play a few years in the MLS.” He actually passed up a trial with Philadelphia Union to travel but has, he insists, no regrets about the decision. “Just to be in the league now would be an honour,” he says. “To be in the same side or to play against some of these guys, some of the biggest names in world football. It would be a great thing to be able to do. “But even at the time I don’t think I realised how good it was going to be for me to move away for a while. Looking back on it, I’ve learned so much; not just about the game but about myself and the way the world is. “I’ve no regrets. But I still hope to play MLS one day and I believe that if I can keep playing well, I’ll get my chance.” http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soc...an-targets-cup-success-and-survival-1.2354401
He has signed with FC Edmonton of the NASL http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/2015...-striker-keegan-re-signing-of-defender-edward
Jake will be missed. Hope to see him do well there. I wouldn't be surprised to see another yank among our ranks in the 2016 season.
Massive thanks to all involved with @GalwayUnitedFC for 2 years I will never forget. Great club, better people. #promotion #cupfinal #stayup— Jake Keegan (@jake__keegan) November 26, 2015
Posting only for context -- Jake will be back with NASL Edmonton this season. He scored 5 goals for them last year, a substantially lower per game yield than he'd ever experienced as a pro. (The team's leader only scored 6, however.)
All news is local: Jake The American was interviewed about the MNT's World Cup ouster for an Edmonton paper. “It’s disappointing, but I think that people are blowing it a little bit out of proportion. There is a lot of good that can come out of it,” said FC Edmonton’s American forward Jake Keegan. “It’s disappointing because the World Cup brings people together and it adds fans to the game that you wouldn’t normally have. Four years ago, we probably added a few hundred thousand fans that weren’t fans before that, and this World Cup, we could have done the same thing. So from that perspective, it’s disappointing. “But at the same time, it makes you look in the mirror, similar to the season we’re having here. It makes you look in the mirror and ask yourself how to make things better? How do you change? How do you make sure something like this doesn’t happen again?” http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/s...believes-good-can-come-out-of-u-s-elimination
If you missed the Jake Keegan YA thread as much as I did, I have good news for you! He's back in Europe with St. Patrick's Athletic in Ireland's top division: http://www.stpatsfc.com/news.php?id=7702 http://www.extratime.ie/articles/20322/saints-sign-striker-jake-keegan/
"Ireland's top division" needs to be put in context. It's 39th in Europe, sandwiched between Finland and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania). Financially, the League of Ireland is below League 2 - significantly so - and a fair number of Conference sides would be better-resourced. So would the vast majority of USL sides. Saint Pat's, Ryan Guy's old stomping ground, are one of the strongest sides in the league, including finances. I remember the coach doing a Radio Interview and talking about putting foreign players up in club houses, so Jake would have free (shared) accommodation with the deal. For the duration of the season he'll be a full-timer. The good thing about the League of Ireland is that it's well-scouted by League One and lower-level Scottish sides and a few players have made the jump, even to the Championship. If he's top-level in Ireland, and has an Irish passport, he may still be able to get offers.
Jake is starting on the bench today as St. Patricks hosts Cork City in Rep. of Ireland Premier League
Jake did make his debut, coming off the bench at 64 minutes, in a losing effort, as St Patricks lose 2 - 3 in their season opener