Andy Murdoch (footballer, born 1995)

Andrew Murdoch (born 30 January 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ayr United. Murdoch previously played for Rangers, Cowdenbeath, Queen of the South and Morton.

Andy Murdoch
Personal information
Full name Andrew Murdoch
Date of birth (1995-01-30) 30 January 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Paisley, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Ayr United
Number 6
Youth career
2007 Everton B.C.
2007–2012 Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Rangers 16 (1)
2015–2016Cowdenbeath (loan) 13 (2)
2016Queen of the South (loan) 10 (1)
2016–2018 Greenock Morton 62 (4)
2018– Ayr United 120 (4)
International career
2011 Scotland U16 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 June 2016

Club career edit

Rangers edit

Murdoch joined Rangers from Paisley based Everton Boys Club after trials with Dundee United and Celtic.[1]

In April 2013, he played and scored in a friendly match at Ibrox Stadium against Linfield.[2] Just over two weeks later he made his competitive debut against East Stirlingshire as an 80th-minute substitute for Kyle Hutton on 27 April 2013.[3]

Murdoch made only one appearance during the 2013–14 season, in a Scottish League One match against East Fife.[4] Murdoch scored his first competitive goal on 20 February 2015 against Raith Rovers.[5] A few days later he agreed a two-and-a-half-year extension with Rangers that was due to expire in May 2017.[6] Murdoch become a first team regular in the 2014–15 season as Rangers aimed to gain promotion from the Scottish Championship, They finished a disappointing third behind Hearts and Hibernian but qualified for the Premiership Play Offs. Rangers beat Queen of the South and Hibernian to reach the final where they faced 11th placed Scottish Premiership club Motherwell. They were clearly defeated in a 6–1 aggregate loss and would have to remain in the Championship for another season. Murdoch played all the play-off games and for his performances over the season won the Rangers' Young Player of the Year award in May 2015.

The arrival of new manager Mark Warburton saw Murdoch's first-team opportunities limited. On 1 September 2015, he moved to Scottish League One side Cowdenbeath on a six-month loan deal until January 2016.[7] He made fifteen appearances and scored two goals. On 11 January 2016, Murdoch signed on loan to fellow Championship team Queen of the South on another six-month loan deal until the end of the 2015–16 season.[8] He made ten appearances and scored one goal. Murdoch scored the only goal in a 1–0 win for Queens against Hibernian, which helped to extend Rangers' lead in the 2015–16 Scottish Championship.

Murdoch was released by Rangers on 31 August 2016.[9]

Greenock Morton edit

On 23 September 2016, Murdoch signed for Greenock Morton on a contract until 15 January 2017.[10] In November this deal was extended until the end of the season.[11]

After making over 30 starts for Morton in 2016-17, Murdoch signed for another year in May 2017.[12] He made a total of 75 appearances across all competitions and scored 4 goals before he left the club at the end of his contract in 2018.

Ayr United edit

On 12 July 2018, Murdoch signed a one-year deal with Scottish Championship side Ayr United.[13] He was part of a side that enjoyed a good Scottish League Cup run finishing top of their five team group with a 100% win record with twelve goals scored and only one conceded before defeating Scottish Premiership side Dundee 3-0 in the next round.[14] They were then knocked out in the quarter-final against Murdoch's former club Rangers, losing 4–0.[15] On 25 March 2019, Murdoch signed a new contract at Ayr for the 2019–20 season.[16]

International career edit

Murdoch represented Scotland once, at under-16 level, in a Victory Shield match against England in 2011.[17]

Career statistics edit

As of 17 May 2019[18][19][3]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rangers 2012–13 Scottish Third Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2013–14 Scottish League One 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2014–15 Scottish Championship 14 1 1 0 0 0 6[a] 0 21 1
2015–16 Scottish Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 16 1 1 0 0 0 6 0 23 1
Cowdenbeath (loan) 2015–16 Scottish League One 13 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 15 2
Queen of the South (loan) 2015–16 Scottish Championship 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 1
Greenock Morton 2016–17 Scottish Championship 28 1 2 0 1 0 2[a] 0 33 1
2017–18 Scottish Championship 34 3 3 0 4 0 1[b] 0 42 3
Total 62 4 5 0 5 0 3 0 75 4
Ayr United 2018–19 Scottish Championship 34 1 1 0 6 0 3[c] 0 44 1
Career total 135 9 9 0 11 0 12 0 167 9
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  3. ^ One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; Two appearances in the Scottish Premiership play-offs

Honours edit

Rangers

References edit

  1. ^ "Reserves & Youths - Andy Murdoch". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Rangers 2-0 Linfield". Neil Smith. Rangers.co.uk. 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Neil (27 April 2013). "East Stirlingshire 2-4 Rangers". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Rangers 5-0 East Fife". BBC. BBC Sport. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  5. ^ Burke, Andy (20 February 2015). "Raith Rovers 1-2 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Murdoch Pens New Deal". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Murdoch On The Move". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Rangers' Andy Murdoch joins Queen of the South". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Andy Murdoch". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 31 August 2016.
  10. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (23 September 2016). "Midfielder Andy Murdoch joins until January". Greenock Morton F.C. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (16 November 2016). "Murdoch signs until end of the season". Greenock Morton F.C. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  12. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (25 May 2017). "Murdoch signs one-year contract extension". Greenock Morton F.C. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Thursday treble signing". Ayr United F.C. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Paul (18 August 2018). "Dundee 0–3 Ayr United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Rangers 4–0 Ayr United". BBC Sport. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Murdoch signs new deal". Ayr United C.C. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Andrew Murdoch". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  18. ^ Andy Murdoch at Soccerbase
  19. ^ Andy Murdoch at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  20. ^ Ralston, Gary (23 August 2017). "Rangers never gave me a chance but now I'm right at home in Dutch league says ex-Ibrox youngster Charlie Telfer". Daily Record. Retrieved 4 July 2018.

External links edit