Peter Kennedy (footballer)

Peter Kennedy

Personal information
Full name	Peter Henry James Kennedy
Date of birth	10 September 1973
Place of birth	Lurgan, Northern Ireland
Playing position	Defender/Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1989–1992	Glentoran	0	(0)
1992–1995	Glenavon	39	(7)
1995–1996	Portadown	23	(10)
1996–1997	Notts County	22	(0)
1997–2001	Watford	114	(18)
2001–2004	Wigan Athletic	65	(2)
2003	→ Derby County (loan)	5	(1)
2004–2006	Peterborough	31	(2)
2006–2008	Portadown
2009–2010	Donegal Celtic
2009–2010	Kilmore Rec
National team
1997	Northern Ireland B	1	(0)
1998–2004	Northern Ireland	20	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Peter Kennedy (born 10 September 1973) was a Northern Irish football defender/midfielder. He has three children, Annie, Olivia and Peter. In 1995/96 he was named as the Ulster Footballer of the Year.^[1] After his first spell in Northern Ireland he had a successful spell in English football, initially joining Notts County in August 1996 where he scored once against Newcastle Town in the FA Cup,^[2] before moving onto Watford a season later. In his first season, he led Watford to promotion to Division One as their highest goalscorer. He scored two goals in quick succession in the derby with Luton Town, a hat-trick against Southend United, and a splendid long-range effort against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. The following season was arguably the highlight of his career as he helped Watford gain promotion to the Premier League in 1999. In the Premier League, he scored Watford's first goal of the season, a penalty against Wimbledon.^[3] He left Watford at the end of the 2000/01 campaign and spent three seasons at Wigan, spending a period on loan at Derby County where he scored once against Ipswich Town.^[4] His final English club was Peterborough United, after which he returned to Northern Ireland. At the end of the 2007–08 season Peter did not have his contract renewed by Portadown and left the club. He began training with Ballymena United FC but decided to retire from his footballing career to focus on becoming an accountant. After a year Peter came out of retirement and made a return to football by signing for Donegal Celtic FC who play in the IFA Championship.

References

1. M. Brodie (ed.), Northern Ireland Soccer Yearbook 2009–2010, p. 102. Belfast:Ulster Tatler Publications
2. Shaw, Phil (17 November 1996). "County's nervous passage". London: The Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
3. "Watford let Dons take advantage". BBC. 9 August 1999. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
4. "Derby 2-2 Ipswich". BBC. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 9 February 2010.

External links

• Peter Kennedy career statistics at Soccerbase
• Since 1888... The Searchable Premiership and Football League Player Database (subscription required)
• Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats