Sean Kelly (Scottish footballer)

Sean Kelly

Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2016	St Mirren	90	(6)
2012	→ East Stirlingshire (loan)	10	(0)
2016–2017	AFC Wimbledon	26	(2)
2017–2020	Ross County	51	(1)
2020–2021	Falkirk	14	(0)
2021–2024	Livingston	68	(6)
2024	Karmiotissa	0	(0)
2024–2025	Dundee	3	(0)
International career
2014	Scotland U21 [2]	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 January 2025

Sean Kelly (born 1 November 1993) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a centre-back and full back. Kelly has previously played for St Mirren, East Stirlingshire, AFC Wimbledon, Ross County, Falkirk, Livingston, Karmiotissa and Dundee.

Career

Kelly began his career with St Mirren and made his professional debut on 3 August 2013 in a 3–0 defeat against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. ^{[3] [4]} On 22 November 2013 it was announced that Kelly had signed a two-year contract extension with Saints, tying him to the club until the summer of 2016. ^[5] On 5 March 2014, Kelly appeared for the Scotland under-21 side in a 2–2 draw against Hungary at Tannadice. ^[6] Kelly was released by St Mirren at the end of the 2015–16 season. ^[7]

Kelly went on trial with AFC Wimbledon during the 2016–17 pre-season, ^[8] and permanently signed for the club on 1 August 2016. ^{[9] [10]} Kelly scored his first goal for the Dons on 14 January, in a 2–1 win against Oxford United. ^[11]

He returned to Scottish football in June 2017, signing for Ross County. ^[12] Kelly was released by Ross County after the end of the 2019–20 season. ^[13]

Kelly signed for Falkirk in October 2020. ^[14]

Kelly playing for Livingston

On 21 July 2021, Kelly joined Scottish Premiership side Livingston on an initial one-year contract. ^[15] He signed a one-year contract extension with Livingston on 20 May 2022. ^[16]

In July 2024, Kelly joined Cypriot First Division club Karmiotissa. ^[17]

After leaving Cyprus as a free agent having not played a game for Karmiotissa, Kelly returned to Scotland and signed a short-term deal with Scottish Premiership club Dundee on 28 November 2024, running until 2 January 2025. ^{[18] [19]} On 4 December, Kelly made his debut for the Dark Blues as a substitute in a home win over Motherwell. ^[20] On 4 January 2025, Dundee confirmed that Kelly's deal had ended after making 3 appearances for the club. ^[21]

Personal life

He is the elder brother of Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly. ^[22] In October 2023 the siblings faced each other from 12 yards in a Scottish Premiership fixture, with Sean scoring his penalty past Liam. ^[23]

Career statistics

As of 29 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Mirren	2012–13 [24]	Scottish Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2013–14 [25]	Scottish Premiership	33	1	3	1	0	0	—		36	2
	2014–15 [26]		31	3	2	0	1	0	—		34	3
	2015–16 [27]	Scottish Championship	26	2	1	0	1	0	4 [a]	0	32	2
	Total		90	6	6	1	2	0	4	0	102	7
East Stirlingshire (loan)	2012–13 [24]	Scottish Third Division	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
AFC Wimbledon	2016–17 [28]	League One	26	2	2	0	1	0	3 [b]	0	32	2
Ross County	2017–18 [29]	Scottish Premiership	13	0	0	0	5	0	—		18	0
	2018–19 [30]	Scottish Championship	20	1	1	0	5	0	1 [a]	0	27	1
	2019–20 [31]	Scottish Premiership	18	0	1	0	4	0	—		23	0
	Total		51	1	2	0	14	0	1	0	68	1
Falkirk	2020–21 [32]	Scottish League One	14	0	0	0	2	0	—		16	0
Livingston	2021–22 [33]	Scottish Premiership	15	0	1	0	2	0	—		18	0
	2022–23 [34]	Scottish Premiership	30	2	0	0	4	1	—		34	3
	2023–24 [35]	Scottish Premiership	23	4	2	0	2	1	—		27	5
	Total		68	6	3	0	8	2	0	0	79	8
Karmiotissa	2024–25 [36]	Cypriot First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dundee	2024–25 [36]	Scottish Premiership	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
Total			238	15	13	1	24	2	8	0	293	18

1. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
2. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Ross County

• Scottish Championship: 2018–19 ^[37]
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2018–19 ^[38]

References

1. "Sean Kelly". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
2. Sean Kelly at the Scottish Football Association
3. "Inverness 3 St Mirren 0: Caley crush 10-man Saints". The Herald. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
4. "Inverness 3-0 St Mirren". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
5. "St Mirren duo Sean Kelly & Jason Naismith signs new deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
6. "Scotland U21 2-2 Hungary U21". BBC Sport. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
7. "Squad Update". St Mirren FC. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
8. "AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley keen to sign Sean Kelly and a striker". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
9. "Sean earns Wimbledon deal". Chris Slaven. AFC Wimbledon. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
10. "Sean Kelly: AFC Wimbledon sign former St Mirren defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
11. "AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Oxford". BBC Sport. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
12. "Ross County sign Sean Kelly after AFC Wimbledon exit for defender". BBC Sport. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
13. "Richard Foster: Out-of-contract defender says not furloughing players morally shocking". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
14. "Sean Kelly Signs!". falkirkfc.co.uk. Falkirk FC. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
15. "Livingston add defender Sean Kelly on one-year contract". BBC. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
16. "New Deal for Sean Kelly". Livingston FC. 20 May 2022.
17. @FCKarmiotissa (16 July 2024). "🤝 Welcome Home Sean ✍️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #karmiotissafc #WeAreKarmiotissa 🧡" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 July 2024– via Twitter.
18. "Sean Kelly joins the Dee". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
19. Cran, George (28 November 2024). "Dundee snap up free agent defensive cover after injuries strike". The Courier. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
20. "Dundee 4-1 Motherwell: Scottish Premiership win sends hosts up to fifth place". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
21. "Kelly's deal comes to an end". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
22. Charlie Rhodes (25 November 2018). "Sean Kelly says Liam Kelly 'has the ability and mindset' to play for Rangers". Sports Lens.
23. Motherwell kid Lennon Miller has wise head on his shoulders, red card won't affect him, says skipper, Andy McGilvray, Daily Record, 10 October 2023
24. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
25. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
26. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
27. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
28. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
29. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
30. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
31. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
32. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
33. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
34. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
35. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
36. "Games played by Sean Kelly in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
37. "Ross County Secure title and promotion". BBC. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
38. "Ross County lifted the Challenge Cup for a third time". BBC Sport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.

External links

• Sean Kelly at Soccerbase