Sammy Stewart

(by Roy Cathcart)

Name: Samuel Stewart
Born: 1 March 1991*, Portadown
Height:
Weight:
Position: Forward / Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Under-21 Cap (2008).

Club Career:
Teams ....... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League- FACup FLCup Other
Glenavon..... 07/08 ............ Youth .9(6)/ 1 ........... 0(1)0
Aberdeen..... 08/09-09/10 May-08 ...... 0(1)/ 0
Glenavon..... 10/11 ..... Aug-10 .Free 11(6)/ 0
L. Distillery 11/12 ..... Oct-11 .Free .0(1)/ 0
Ambassadors .......................... (Mid-Ulster League)
Portadown ... 12/13 ..... Jan-12 .Free .0(2)/ 0 
Ambassadors
Cowdenbeath . 13/14- date Jan-14 

Biography:

Sammy Stewart, who joined Aberdeen from Glenavon in 2008, was released on 5 January 2010. He made his only Dons appearance as an 88th minute substitute in a 2-1 win over Hibs on 24 May 2009. Prior to moving to Scotland, Stewart played sixteen games for Glenavon, making his League debut away to Crusaders on 7th December 2007 and scored his only goal at Cliftonville on 5th April 2008, a stunning strike in a 3-3 draw. He returned to Mourneview in August 2010 on a one year deal.

Released by Glenavon at the end of the 2010/11 season Stewart joined Lisburn Distillery in October, but stayed at Ballyskeagh only until January. He was out of senior football for a year before signing for Portadown during the 2012/13 transfer window with the primary intention of playing for the reserve team. He returned to senior football as a substitute in a 6-1 Premiership defeat at Ballymena in April 2013.

In January 2014 Stewart moved back to Scotland to sign for Cowdenbeath  where Jimmy Nicholl is manager.

More to follow.

IFA Premiership

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
20-08-2008 Ukraine A L 1-4 MT

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

* or 25 November 1990.

Phil Scott

Name: Philip Scott
Born: 24 May 1942, Belfast
Died: 1 May 2014, Belfast
Height: 5.08 ft
Weight: 11.05 st
Position: Inside-Left

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Amateur Cap / 3 Goals, Youth; Irish League.
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish League Champion 1965/66; Irish Cup Winner 1969/70;City Cup Winner 1963/64, 1967/68; Gold Cup Winner 1963/64, 1965/66, 1967/68, 1970/71; Ulster Cup Winner 1964/65, 1967/68; Top Four Cup Winner 1966/67, 1967/68; Co, Antrim Shield Winner 1965/66, 1966/67; George Wilson Cup Winner 1961/62*; (with Distillery) Irish League Champion 1962/63; Irish Cup Runner-Up 1962/63; (with Brantwood) Steel & Sons Cup Winner 1976/77.
* with Linfield Swifts.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup	Europe	Other
Lower Shankill BC		-	Youth	-	-	-	-
Distillery	-	-56	Amateur	-	-	-	-
Linfield	60/61-61/62	-58	Amateur	*10/  3	-	-	-
Distillery	62/63	c/s-62	Amateur	*31/ 12	-	-	-
Linfield	63/64-72/73	c/s-63	-	*328/143	-	13(2)/5	-
Glenavon	73/74-75/76	Jun-73	-	-	-	-	-
Brantwood	-	-76	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		-	-	13(2)/5	-

* all domestic games.

Biography:
Phil Scott passed away at his home, in the shadow of Windsor Park, on 1 May 2014 after a lengthy period of ill-health. Just a few weeks earlier he had been awarded Honorary Life Membership by Linfield. On one of his final visits to Windsor he saw his grandson, Jordan Stewart, score against the Blues for Glentoran.

To follow.

Articles from LinfieldFC.com
Passing of the great Phil Scott
Phil Scott - A superb career
Phil Scott - a Giant in Linfield's proud European History

Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
10-05-1963 Scotland H W 5-2 3 goals

Summary: 1/3. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 0.

Irish League Representative Appearance Details:

Jackie Scott

Name: J. McMullan Scott
Born: c.1931, Belfast
Height: 5.09½ ft
Weight: 11.00 st
Position: Inside-Left

Representative Honours: Ireland: 3 Amateur Caps (1952-1954); South Africa Representative.
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) Irish Cup Runner-Up 1953/54.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Europe	Other
Linfield	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-	-
Cliftonville	52/53-53/54	-	Amateur	-	-	-	-
Glentoran	53/54-54/55	Jan-54	-	*36/10	-	-	-
Mashonaland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Salisbury Police	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		-	-	-	-

* all games.

Biography:
"A non-stop player", Belfast-lad Jackie Scott played with several Irish League clubs before moving to Rhodesia in 1955. There he played with the Mashonaland team and the Salisbury Police Club. In 1958 he was a member of the South Africa team that toured the British Isles and played against an Irish FA XI in Belfast.

More to follow.

Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
02-02-1952 England. H L 1-2
14-02-1953 Scotland H W 1-0
10-04-1954 Scotland A D 0-0

Summary: 3/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 1.

Jim Savage

Name: James Savage
Born: Belfast
Height:
Weight:
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 4 Amateur Caps (1970-1973); Great Britain Olympic Team.
Club Honours: (with Distillery) Irish Cup Winner 1970/71.

Club Career:
Teams..... --Seasons-- Domestic Europe
St Paul's
Distillery 67/68-74/75 .202/ 44 ..2/ 0

Biography:
A versatile forward, though most at home leading the line, Jim Savage came through junior football to make his Distillery debut on 10th February 1968. He is perhaps best remembered for scoring in The Whites 1971 Irish Cup Final win over Derry City, Martin O'Neill scoring the others in a 3-0 win. That same year Savage and O'Neill also played alongside each other in an Amateur International against Scotland at The Oval. As well as his four Amateur caps he also played for the British Olympic team in their unsuccessful 1972 qualifying series.

Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
02-10-1970 England. A L 1-4
19-02-1971 Scotland H D 1-1
17-04-1971 Wales... A L 0-1
07-04-1973 Wales... A L 1-2

Summary: 4/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 3.

Cecil Smyth

Name: Cecil Smyth
Born: 4 May 1941, Belfast
Died: 7 November 2008, Exeter (England)
Height: 5.06 ft
Weight: 10.08 st
Position: Right-Back

Club Honours: (with Distillery) City Cup Winner 1959/60; (with Exeter) Football League Division Four Fourth Place (promoted) 1963/64.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Distillery	58/59-61/62	-	-	*108(0)/?	-	-
Exeter City	62/63-68/69	Aug-62	-	270(3)/1	16(0)/0	14(0)/1
Torquay United	69/70-70/71	Aug-69	£2,500	22(1)/0	1(0)/0	-
Barnstaple Town	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		400(4)/1	17(0)/0	14(0)/1

* all games.

Biography:
Cec Smyth established himseld as a regular for Distillery while still a teenager, helping them to a City Cup success in 1959. He moved to the Football League with Exeter City in 1962 where he was regular right-back for eight seasons and aided them to promotion to the Third Division in 1964. He finished his professional career with Torquay United and later settled in Exeter where he worked for the prison service. A player who "visibly enjoyed" the game and was regarded as a great character, Cecil Smyth passed away in 2008 at the age of 67.

Exeter City Tribute
Grecian Archive

Jimmy Swann

Name: James Swann
Position: Right-Back

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Amateur Cap (1949).

Club Career:
Cliftonville

Biography:
Jimmy Swann, a talented defender and once capped Amateur international was a star for Cliftonville in the late-40s and early-50s. Sadly, he died in his prime, collapsing at home while washing his car on the morning of a game at Solitude. He was recently included in an "All-Time Cliftonville XI".

Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
07-02-1948 England H L 0-5

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Bruce Shiells

Name: Bruce Shiells (Shiels)
Born: Warrenpoint
Height: 5.11 ft
Weight: 11.04 st
Position: Outside-Right

Representative Honours: Ireland: 6 Amateur Caps / 1 Goal (1952-1955); Irish FA Representative (1953).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Warrenpoint United		-	-	-	-	-
Portadown	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cliftonville	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Distillery	-	c/s-54	Amateur	*/76	-	-
TOTALS	-	£0		-	-	-

* all games

Biography:
An amateur with Cliftonville during the 1950s, Bruce Shiells claimed Ireland Amateur caps and toured North America with the Irish FA in 1953. Most at home on the wing, where he was "fast, penetrative" and regarded as the best crosser in the Irish League, Shiels could also lead the attack.

More to follow.

Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
02-02-1952 England..... H L 1-3
12-04-1952 Scotland.... A L 1-2
31-01-1953 England..... A L 1-4
14-02-1953 Scotland.... H W 1-0 1 Goal
10-10-1953 South Africa H L 2-5
22-01-1955 Wales....... A W 2-1

Summary: 6/1. Won 2, Drew 0, Lost 4.

Robin Shroot

Beats & Rhymes FC

Name: Robin Shroot
Born: 26 March 1988, London (England)
Height: 5.09 ft / 1.75 m
Wight: 11.07 st / 70 kg
Position: Winger

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 4 Under-21 Caps (2008-2009), Under-20, Under-19.

Club Career:
Clubs........ --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- --League-- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Wimbledon ...................... Youth
Staines Town
AFC Wimbledon.06/07-07/08 Sep-07 ....... 7(12)/ 6 ............. 6(7)/1
Harrow Boro'. 07/08 ............. Loan
Harrow Boro'. 08/09 ..... Sep-08 . n/c. 12 (0)/ 9 ............. 4(0)/4
Birmingham C. 08/09-10/11 Jan-09 Nom'l ..0 (0)/ 0 1(0)/0
Walsall ..... 08/09 ..... Mar-09 .Loan ..0 (5)/ 0
Burton Albion 09/10 ..... Jul-09 .Loan ..4 (3)/ 0
Kilmarnock .............. Jul-10 Trial ..0 (0)/ 0
Cheltenham T. 10/11 ..... Aug-10 .Loan ..4 (3)/ 1 2(0)/0 0(1)/0 0(1)/0

Stevenage ... 11/12-13/14 Jul-11 .Free .28(33)/ 9 2(3)/1 1(4)/0 2(2)/1  
Crawley Town ............ Dec-13 Trial
Sarpsborg 08 ............ Jan-14 Trial
IL Hødd ..... 2014 ...... Mar-14 .Free .19 (4)/16 (Norway)
Sogndal ..... 2015 ...... Jan-15 ....... 6 (5)/ 4 (Norway)
IL Hødd ..... 2015 - 2017
Viking ...... 2017 ...... Mar-17 .Loan
Nashville SC ............ Dec-17

Biography:
Young winger Robin Shroot moved from non-league football to Championship side, Birmingham City in January 2009. He has played for Northern Ireland at the Milk Cup.

Joining up with fellow Northern Irishmen Maik Taylor and Damien Johnson at St. Andrew's, Shroot was awarded an early debut against Wolves in the FA Cup. He was then loaned out to Midland-neighbours, League One side Walsall to gain firstteam experience and made his Football League debut at Southend on 7th March 2009.

Shroot was due to spend the 2009/10 season on loan at Football League new-boys, Burton Albion. The deal was cut short in October 2009 "in the best interests of both parties" as it was felt he was not getting the opportunities to gain the experience expected. He returned to Birmingham though was unable to play for them until the January 2010 transfer window. He joined Cheltenham on loan at the start of the 2010/11 season.

London-born Shroot, who qualifies for Northern Ireland through his grandmother, brought himself to the attentions of the Irish FA after writing to Lawrie Sanchez while a teenager. He played in the Final defeat at the 2007 Milk Cup and earned his first Under-21 cap in an emphatic win over Scotland in November 2008.

Shroot was released by Birmingham at the end of the 2010/11 season. He joined Stevenage after a successful trial. He enjoyed some good form with Borough, but also suffered a poor relationship with the club's hierarchy and he was eventually released by mutual consent in March 2014. He moved to Norway, signing for 1. divisjon (second tier) side, Idrottslaget Hødd.

AFC Wimbledon Bio
Harrow Borough Bio
Birmingham City Bio
Hodd

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
18-11-2008 Scotland A W 3-1 FR 
31-03-2009 Ukraine. H D 1-1 FR
11-08-2009 Portugal A L 1-2 FR sub
08-09-2009 Iceland. H L 2-6 ECQ

Summary: 3(1)/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 2.

Richard Smyth

Name: Dr. Richard Henry Smyth
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1886).

Club Career:
Dublin University

Biography:
Capped for the only time while studying at Dublin University, Smyth played against Wales at The Racecourse, Wrexham in February 1886. 700 people watched the Welsh crush Ireland by five goals to nil.

More to follow.

Ireland Cap Details:
27-02-1886 Wales... A L 0-5 BC

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Jimmy Small

Name: James Mark Small OBE, JP, FCIS
Born: 7 July 1867, Belfast
Died: 27 December 1963
Position: Inside-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 4 Full Caps (1887-1893); Co. Antrim FA Representative.
Club Honours: (with YMCA) Irish Cup Runner-Up 1888/89; (with Cliftonville) Irish Cup Runner-Up 1889/90, 1892/93.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	Irish,Cup	Other
Prospect	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Clarence	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Belfast.YMCA	-	-	Amateur	-	-	*1/0
Cliftonville	89/90-02/03	1889	Amateur	-	-	*3/0
TOTALS		£-		-	-	-

* English FA Cup

Biography:
James Small, from Belfast's Jocelyn Street, played in three Irish Cup Finals between 1889 and 1893, though never in the winning side.

Small won his first cap in 1887 while a Clarence player before enjoying greater success while with YMCA. He was part of a very successful forward-line that fired YMCA to a surprise Irish Cup Final appearance in 1889. St Columb's Court and Glentoran were defeated en-route to a close-fought 5-4 defeat by Distillery in the decider with Small among the scorers.

A year later Small was a Cliftonville player, YMCA having been "amalgamated" with their near-neighbours. He appeared in another Irish Cup Final and his late equaliser helped the Reds turn round a 0-2 half-time deficit against Gordon Highlanders to force a replay. However, in the replay the Scottish military team's strength told as they ran out 3-0 victors.

Three years later Small enjoyed what was perhaps his best season. Cliftonville running Linfield close in the race for the Irish League title and facing the Blues in the Irish Cup decider. Small was forced to accept a third Irish Cup runners-up medal as Linfield cruised to a 5-1 victory at Ulsterville. In all Small played 14 seasons in the Cliftonville first eleven.

In December 1892 Small played for the Co. Antrim FA against Derry at Cliftonville and a year later was recalled by Ireland after a six year absence. He was appointed captain for each of that season's International Championship matches, and although he finished on the end of 6-1 defeats at the hands of England and Scotland he did help the Irish to a rare victory with Wales defeated 4-3 at Cliftonville.

Small was also a long-distance race champion and a good referee but it was as an administrator that he perhaps had his most long-standing influence. Elected to the Co. Antrim FA as a representative for Cliftonville Strollers in October 1894, and was still involved with the Association into his nineties. He served the Co. Antrim Shield as chairman, secretary and treasurer and was appointed as a delegate to the Irish FA for whom he was also secretary and treasurer.

Away from football, Small worked in the linen business and served on Castlereagh Rural District Council from 1930-1946.

Ireland Cap Details:
05-02-1887 England. A L 0-7 BC
25-02-1893 England. A L 1-6 BC
25-03-1893 Scotland A L 1-6 BC
08-04-1893 Wales... H W 4-3 BC

Summary: 4/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 3.

Photo supplied by George Glass.