Derry City’s Cameron McJannet has been named SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month for November.
The 24-year-old hit a superb brace in last month’s FAI Cup final as Derry triumphed for the first time in a decade. McJannet is the second Derry player to win the award in 2022 after Jamie McGonigle last April, and finished ahead of UCD’s Thomas Lonergan and teammate Patrick McEeleny in the voting.
“I never thought I’d score two,” the defender told Soccer Writers Ireland, who picked up Man of the Match award in the final.
"The gaffer and the staff set us up perfectly, almost to the point where the chances of it going wrong were very small. The result and performance showed it. Our tactics and everything were spot on.
“I was maybe imagining a clean sheet or something, but the two goals were more than a cherry on top. It was an unbelievable day. To see how many people we made happy was unbelievable.”
The Candystripes finished second in the Premier Division this year, and manager Ruaidhrí Higgins signed Ireland U-21 cap Colm Whelan last week.
Elsewhere, Drogheda United have signed forward Michael Leddy on loan from champions Shamrock Rovers. The Drogheda native has been capped at U-18 level for Ireland, and was named Academy Player of the Year at the Hoops in 2018.
The 18-year-old has been a regular starter for their U-19 side, and was also included in Stephen Bradley’s European matchday squad three times this term.
Shamrock Rovers have announced four new signings ahead of the 2023 Women’s National League season.
Academy quartet Maria Reynolds, Abby Tuthill, Jaime Thompson and Orlaith O’Mahony will join Collie O’Neill’s first-team squad, and are all current Ireland U-19 internationals.
“All of these young players bring different attributes to the squad. They all have tremendous technical ability and desire to play at the top level. They are already embedded into the club and appreciate the culture and professionalism that exists,” said O’Neill.
