Ryan McCord
Ryan McCord
Arbroath FC can confirm that midfielder Ryan McCord is leaving the club after 3 very successful seasons where he won both League Two and League One Titles.
Ryan has been a firm fan favourite with his silky skills and spectacular goals not to mention his crucial goals which were pivotal in both League Two and League One Trophies.
Ryan joined Arbroath in the summer of 2016 after moving to Gayfield from Raith Rovers, having started his career at Dundee United before spells with Stirling Albion, Airdrieonians, Alloa Athletic and Raith Rovers.
He would make his debut in our televised Betfred Cup match against former club, Dundee United but would score his first goal for the Lichties against Montrose at Links Park on the 13th of August, in a dramatic match where Ryan also was sent off for picking up two yellow cards.
His second goal was a 94th minute equaliser against Annan Athletic before another goal followed against Clyde then a late header sealing a crucial point against Forfar Athletic at Station Park.
Goals again came against Berwick Rangers (2), Montrose, Annan Athletic, Cowdenbeath before another stunning goal again at Station Park sealed a great win.
However Ryan kept his best to last in the 2016 / 2017 when he scored a hat-trick against Elgin City at Gayfield on the penultimate day of the season to keep the Lichties in the hunt for the League 2 Championship. A perfect performance and one which certainly helped land the title.
Ryan scored 13 goals in 38 appearances in his debut 2016/2017 season.
Ryan’s 2017 / 2018 season was a bit more of a rollercoaster as Ryan juggled his footballing career whilst also studying and working in a placement in his final year for his BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering, which he successfully obtained!
Ryan was a mainstay in the heart of midfield before he moved into a more centre forward role after Steven Doris was hit by injury.
In an incredible 5 week period Ryan scored twice against Forfar Athletic, before notching a hat-trick against Stranraer, then a goal against Alloa Athletic before adding another 2 against Airdrieonians with a sensational chip goal from the byline.
However as the season went on, Ryan found it harder to get back into the team but still managed goals against Stranraer and Ayr United as we finished our first season in League One in the the play-offs.
Ryan scored 10 goals in 26 appearances in the 2017 / 2018 season.
This season, the early form of the starting 11 made it very hard for any player to break into the team as we went the first 17 games without suffering a defeat.
Ryan’s eye for goal still played a crucial part in our success this season when he came off the bench and scored a late goal against Stenhousemuir in Game 7 to secure all 3 points before then scoring against Stenhousemuir again at Gayfield.
In the 20th game of the season it looked again like we were going to have to settle for a point as Brechin City were resolute in defending, but Ryan came off the bench to score another vital goal as he flicked in an 82nd minute header!
Ryan scored 3 goals in 6 starting appearances with a further 18 appearances from the bench in the 2018/2019 season.
In total Ryan made 60 starts, a further 27 appearances from the bench and scored 26 goals!
Ryan leaves Gayfield with the best wishes of everyone at Gayfield for the future.
A class act on and off the pitch, who always grabbed the fans imagination and attention when he got on the ball seeing passes that nobody else could and pinging the ball into the net for fun and of course certainly owner of one of the best songs at Gayfield in years!
Pongo will be missed, but we wish him all the very best to him and his young family.
