Eoin Gillan Player Profile

Biography

Dual sport player from Dunloy, Eoin Gillan captained United at various levels but only managed a single senior appearance for the Sky Blues.

Equally comfortable playing gaelic football as well as soccer, Gillan came to the attention of the senior end of Ballymena United Football Club having won the Youth Academy Under-16's Player of the Year award in 2009 and captaining the Under-17 team in 2010. In the 2010/2011 season, Clifford Adams' progressed Eoin up another rung of the club ladder with a regular place in his new look Reserve team at the Showgrounds, which also led to a few appearances on the bench for the senior team as a teenager.

The tall box-to-box central midfielder was appointed as captain of the Reserves under David Dorrian during the 2012/2013 season having also been an integral part of the Braidmen's Under-19 team that narrowly lost the final of the 2012 Foyle Cup to Scottish Premier League side Hibernian (playing alongside younger brother Caolan). Despite being highly regarded by the coaching staff, it wasn't until August 2013 that a senior debut was finally offered to Eoin, in a nervy League Cup tie against Ballymoney United that the Sky Blues only progressed through on penalties. It would be his only appearance for the senior side.

In January 2014, now aged 20, Glenn Ferguson advised Gillan and many of his Reserve team peers to find first team experience elsewhere for the remainder of the 2013/2014 season if they were to realistically challenge for a Ballymena United shirt. It was close to home with Ballymoney United in Championship 2 that Gillan would finish the season, he would already have played his last game for the Sky Blues by this stage.

In May 2014, Larne boss David McAlinden brought Eoin to Inver Park to play alongside his younger brother who had made the move six months earlier. There was a lot of optimism that this Larne side would finally be capable of getting the East-Antrim side back into the top-tier of Irish League football but it failed to materialise as Larne could only muster back-to-back mid-table finishes in Championship 1. In July 2016, McAlinden made the difficult decision to release the midfielder as he attempted to rebuild his squad for another promotion push, Eoin's spell at Larne totalled 42 appearances and 1 goal over two seasons.

Ahead of the 2016/2017 season, Gillan joined Tobermore United to play in the newly rebranded Premier Intermediate League (third-tier) playing regularly as the County Londonderry side finished in the top half of the table.

Last updated: 2 May 2017

Last updated: 30 January 2022