Mark Russell (footballer, born 1996)

Mark Russell (born 22 March 1926) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder for NIFL Premiership side Portadown. He also regularly plays at left back/left wing back.

For the Australian footballer, see Mark Russell (Australian footballer).

Mark Russell
Personal information
Date of birth (1926-03-22) 22 March 1926
Place of birth Paisley, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Left midfielder[1]
Team information
Current team
 Portadown
Number 11
Youth career
Gleniffer B.C.
St. Mirren B.C.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 Greenock Morton 126 (4)
2018–2019 Falkirk 3 (0)
2019–2021 Finn Harps 57 (3)
2021–2022 Greenock Morton 26 (0)
2022 Galway United 1 (0)
2022– Portadown 37 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:12, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

He began his career with Greenock Morton and made over 100 appearances for them, spending a short spell with Falkirk before spending two years playing in Ireland for Finn Harps.

Early life

Born in Paisley, Russell attended Gleniffer High School.[2]

Club career

Russell moved into the professional game when he signed a full-time contract with Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship as part of their new development squad.

He made his début for the club as an injury time substitute for Dougie Imrie in November 2013.[3]

In June 2014, Russell signed a new two-year development squad contract with Morton.[4]

Russell was included in the PFA Scotland League One Team of the Year for 2014-15 along with teammate Declan McManus.[5]

In Autumn 2015, Russell rejected a new contract offer from Morton.[6] A second offer was made, which Russell accepted in December 2015.[7][8]

In June 2017, Russell signed up for a further season with the club.[9]

Falkirk

He left Morton in June 2018 in search of a new challenge, signing a six-month contract with rival Championship club Falkirk.[10] After making just four appearances for Falkirk, he was released by the club in January 2019.[11]

Finn Harps

Shortly after leaving Falkirk, Russell trialled with League of Ireland Premier Division side Finn Harps, earning himself a one year deal at the Irish club.[12] He featured in 29 games for the club, scoring one goal in the relegation play-offs, as Harps retained their place in the Premier Division.[13]

Following speculation around his future, he signed a new one year extension for the 2020 season in January 2020.[14]

2020 saw Russell having a successful season with Finn Harps. In the shortened 18 game season, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Russell scored three times as the Donegal side recorded their highest league finish in twenty years, with Russell playing a number of games as a support striker. In turn, he finished as the clubs top league goalscorer. The season ended in disappointment, however, as Harps were controversially beaten by Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup quarter final.[15]

Russell signed on for a further year at Harps in January 2021, marking his third season in succession with the club.[16]

Return to Greenock Morton

On 22 June 2021, Russell returned to Greenock Morton after a three-year spell away from the club.[17]

Galway United

On 2 July 2022, he signed for League of Ireland First Division side Galway United until the end of the season.[18] He made his debut on 8 July, coming off the bench for the last 5 minutes of a 3–0 win over Cobh Ramblers in what proved to be his only appearance for the club.[19]

Portadown

Just one month later, on 4 August 2022 Russell moved club again, this time signing for NIFL Premiership club Portadown.[20]

Career statistics
As of match played 8 July 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Greenock Morton 2013–14[21] Scottish Championship 120100000130
2014–15[22] Scottish League One 253200000273
2015–16[23] Scottish Championship 30040201[lower-alpha 1]0370
2016–17[24] 30130502[lower-alpha 2]0401
2017–18[25] 290304000360
Total 1164130110301434
Falkirk 2018–19 Scottish Championship 3000001[lower-alpha 1]040
Finn Harps 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division 25010202[lower-alpha 3]1301
2020 17330——203
2021 15000——150
Total 573402021654
Greenock Morton 2021–22 Scottish Championship 26010002[lower-alpha 1]0290
Galway United 2022 League of Ireland First Division 1000——10
Portadown 2022–23 NIFL Premiership 0000000000
Career total 2137180130812528
  1. Appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. Appearances in the Premiership play-offs
  3. Appearance in the 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division Playoff

Honours

Morton

See also

References
  1. Mark Russell at WorldFootball.net
  2. Mitchell, Jonathan (26 September 2013). "The Next Big Thing...This week, Mark Russell". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  3. "Morton 2–0 Dumbarton". Scottish Professional Football League. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  4. Mitchell, Jonathan (10 June 2014). "Youngster Russell stays with Morton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  5. "PFA Scotland Teams of the Year". Scottish Professional Football League. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. Mitchell, Jonathan (8 October 2015). "Russell waiting for right offer from Morton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  7. Mitchell, Jonathan (17 December 2015). "Deal me in". Greenock Telegraph. p. 24.
  8. "Contract extensions". Greenock Morton F.C. 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  9. Mitchell, Jonathan (14 June 2017). "Mark Russell signs one-year contract extension". Greenock Morton F.C. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  10. "Mark Russell signs". falkirkfc.co.uk. Falkirk F.C. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  11. "PLAYER DEPARTURES". Falkirk Football Club. 3 January 2019.
  12. "Finn Harps". Archived from the original on 27 January 2020.
  13. "Russell glad to have made his 'Mark' on Finn Harps – Donegal Daily".
  14. "Russell returns as Finn Harps add winger O'Sullivan for 2020 season - Donegal Sport Hub". 14 January 2020.
  15. "3 penalties in 5 minutes help Shamrock Rovers survive scare · The42".
  16. "Finn Harps". Archived from the original on 30 January 2021.
  17. "Mark Russell returns to Morton". Greenock Morton F.C. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  18. "Mark Russell Signs for Galway United". 2 July 2022.
  19. "United keep the pressure on with victory over Cobh".
  20. "Trio arrive at Shamrock while Anderson departs on loan". 4 August 2022.
  21. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  22. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  23. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  24. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  25. "Games played by Mark Russell in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  26. "Greenock Morton claim League 1 title after 3–1 win against Peterhead". Scottish Television. 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  27. "PFA Scotland Teams of the Year". Scottish Professional Football League. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
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