Kevin O'Hara (footballer)

Kevin O'Hara

Personal information
Date of birth	(1998-08-11) 11 August 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth	Stirling, Scotland [1]
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [2]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Hamilton Academical
Number	9
Youth career
–2015	Falkirk
2013–2014	→ Forth Valley Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2019	Falkirk	34	(0)
2016–2017	→ East Fife (loan)	16	(3)
2018–2019	→ Stenhousemuir (loan)	15	(0)
2019–2020	Alloa Athletic	27	(10)
2020–2023	Dunfermline Athletic	76	(17)
2023–	Hamilton Academical	32	(13)
International career
2013–2014	Scotland U16	3	(1)
2016	Scotland U19	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:29, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

Kevin O'Hara (born 11 August 1998) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Hamilton Academical. O'Hara has previously played for Falkirk, East Fife, Stenhousemuir, Alloa Athletic and Dunfermline Athletic.

Club career

O'Hara was raised in the village of Fallin and attended Wallace High School in Stirling. ^[3] Having spent time training with the Forth Valley Football Academy, he began his professional career with Falkirk, making his senior debut in a league game on 12 April 2015. ^[4] After strong performances for the club's Development League team, he was in contention for a place in the squad for the 2015 Scottish Cup Final, although in the end he was not selected. ^[5]

He spent a loan spell with East Fife between July 2016 and January 2017, ^[6] scoring 3 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions. ^[7]

In November 2017 he received an 8-match 'excessive misconduct' ban for abusing Dean Shiels about his disability during a game against Dunfermline Athletic. ^{[8] [9]}

On 13 August 2018, O'Hara joined League One club Stenhousemuir on a six-month loan deal. ^[10] He was recalled on 3 January 2019. ^[11]

O'Hara was released by Falkirk at the end of the 2018–19 season, following the club's relegation to League One. ^[12]

In July 2019, O'Hara signed for Scottish Championship club Alloa Athletic. ^[13] After an impressive year with Alloa during which he scored 14 goals in 35 matches, O'Hara signed a three-year contract with Dunfermline Athletic on 10 July 2020. ^[14] Following relegation in his second season with the club, O'Hara was part of the Dunfermline team who won the League One title in the 2022–23 season. Following the end of his contract, O'Hara was released by Dunfermline. ^[15]

O'Hara signed with Hamilton Academical in June 2023. ^[16] He was criticised at the start of the season due to a lack of goals, ^[17] but scored a hat-trick on 11 November 2023. ^[18] In March 2024 he extended his contract to 2026. ^{[19] [20]}

International career

O'Hara has been involved with Scotland at various youth age group levels. In October 2013, he became the first Forth Valley Academy player to be selected for a national squad. ^{[3] [21] [22]}

Career statistics

As of 8 May 2023

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Falkirk	2014–15 [4]	Scottish Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2015–16 [23]		14	0	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	16	0
	2016–17 [7]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2017–18 [24]		18	0	0	0	3	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	22	0
	2018–19 [25]		1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		34	0	1	0	6	0	2	0	43	0
East Fife (loan)	2016–17 [7]	Scottish League One	16	3	0	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	19	3
Stenhousemuir (loan)	2018–19 [25]	Scottish League One	15	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	16	0
Alloa Athletic	2019–20 [26]	Scottish Championship	27	10	2	3	4	1	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	35	14
Dunfermline Athletic	2020–21 [27]	Scottish Championship	24	8	1	0	6	3	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	33	11
	2021–22 [28]		34	6	1	0	5	3	0	0	40	9
	2022–23 [29]	Scottish League One	18	3	2	0	4	0	0	0	24	3
	Total		76	17	4	0	15	3	2	0	97	23
Career total			168	30	7	3	27	7	8	0	210	40

1. Appearance in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
2. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
3. Appearances in the Scottish Premiership Playoffs

Honours

Dunfermline Athletic

• Scottish League One: 2022–23 ^[30]

References

1. "Player profile: Kevin O'Hara". Falkirk F.C. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
2. Kevin O'Hara at Soccerway
3. "Fallin boy Kevin O'Hara makes debut for Scotland Under-16s". Daily Record / Stirling Observer. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
4. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
5. "Falkirk youngster Kevin O'Hara hopes to KO Inverness Caledonian Thistle for a second time". Falkirk Herald. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
6. "O'Hara joins East Fife on loan". SPFL. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
7. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
8. "Falkirk: Kevin O'Hara banned for abusing Dean Shiels about having one eye". BBC Sport. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
9. McDougall, Mark (9 November 2017). "Kevin O'Hara banned for eight matches for abusing Dean Shiels about missing eye". Daily Record.
10. Clark, Jonny (13 August 2018). "Kevin O'Hara joins Stenhousemuir on loan". The Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
11. @FalkirkFC (3 January 2019). "✍️ @_kevinohara has been recalled early from his loan at Stenhousemuir FC and returns to our first team squad for S…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. "PLAYER UPDATE". Falkirk F.C. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
13. "Grant delighted with O'Hara capture". Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
14. "Kevin O'Hara joins Dunfermline". Dunfermline Athletic. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
15. "Squad Update | Dunfermline Athletic Football Club". dafc.co.uk.
16. "Another busy day ahead with announcements!". Hamilton Academical FC. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
17. Thomson, Paul (8 October 2023). "Accies boss mounts Kevin O'Hara defence as he tells fans 'I won't drop him'". Daily Record.
18. McGilvray, Andy (12 November 2023). "Accies hat-trick hero was 'taken out of the firing line' - and proved me right". Daily Record.
19. "The club are delighted to announce that striker Kevin O'Hara has further extended his contract with us. - Hamilton Accies". hamiltonacciesfc.co.uk. 21 March 2024.
20. McGilvray, Andy (21 March 2024). "Hamilton Accies striker extends deal". Daily Record.
21. "Fruits of the Academy". Falkirk Herald. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
22. "Kevin O'Hara and Tony Gallacher receive another international call". Falkirk F.C. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
23. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
24. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
25. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
26. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
27. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
28. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
29. "Games played by Kevin O'Hara in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
30. "Dunfermline Athletic win cinch League 1 | SPFL". spfl.co.uk.

External links

• Kevin O'Hara at Soccerbase
• Kevin O'Hara at the Scottish Football Association