Twigg, Gary

In clubs

Since 2000, Gary has been a member of the English Premier League Derby County Club. In 2001, he was awarded the Sammy Crookes Trophy, awarded to the club’s best young player ^[2] . The first match for the first team was held in the last round of the 2001/02 season , replacing Paul Bortien in a meeting with Sandrland that did not solve anything for the “rams” who left the elite. The following season, eight times went on the field in the games of the First Division , seven of them - from the bench.

Twice the Derby leased Gary. He spent the first part of the 2003/04 season at the Football Conference , playing for Burton Albion . In four games, he scored one goal. From March 14 to the end of the season, Twigg was already rented by the club of the Third Division , Bristol Rovers , where in eight games it could not hit the opponents' goal.

For more than a year Gary did not play on a professional level, after which in the summer of 2005 he moved from Derby to the Scottish Airdrie United ^[3] . With the new club, he spent two seasons in the First Division of the Scottish Football League . In December 2006, he was recognized as the footballer of the month in the division after he scored six goals in six games ^[4] . At the end of the 2006/07 season , Airdrie United was forced to challenge their place in the First Division in the playoff tournament with three teams of the Second Division . In the semifinal two-match confrontation, Twigg's goal among helped his club pass the “ Brihin City ” (6: 1), but his goal in the away game against the Sterling Albion club did not help the team (4: 5).

On July 5, 2007, Twigg returned to the Conference, signing a two-year contract with Oxford United ^[5] . In the first three games of the season, he scored a goal, then had two goalless meetings in August, after which he began to have problems with his ankle, because of which he was able to return to the field only on September 30, and on October 6 in the game with Droylsden an injury that required surgery knocked him out of the game before December 1 ^[6] . After spending 4 more games for Oxford in December, Gary started the New Year in the First Division of Scotland as a player at the Hamilton Academic . The team won the tournament and entered the Premier League , but Twig only played four games for it in January.

In the summer of 2008, the player and the club by mutual agreement terminated the contract ^[7] , after which Gary joined the "Brichin City", playing in the Second Division of Scotland. After 23 games, in which 12 goals were scored, in February 2009, Twig followed the coach of “Brichin” Michael O'Neill moved to the Irish “ Shamrock Rovers ”.

In his first season at Rovers, Gary became the top scorer in the championship of Ireland with 24 goals, the club took second place in the table. Also at the end of the season he was recognized as the player of the year in Ireland , and Shamrock fans chose him as the club’s best player ^[8] . In the 2010 championship, Twigg also had no equal in the dispute of scorers (20 goals), and his club won the tournament for the first time in 16 years. In the 2010 Irish Cup final , Twig did not realize his penalty shoot-out , as a result the Sligo Rovers got the trophy, however the Shamrock won the 2011 Setanta Sports Cup and won the 2011 championship , and the Scot with 15 goals again became the team's top scorer but not leagues. In the Europa League group stage 2011/12 , where clubs from Ireland had not previously hit, Gary took part in 5 of 6 matches, not scoring a single time.

At the end of the 2012 season, it became known that since January 2013 Twigg, again becoming the top scorer of the last championship with 22 goals, will play for one of the strongest clubs in the Premier League of Northern Ireland - Portadown , with which a contract for 3 was signed. 5 years ^[9] .

In a new championship for himself, Twigg made his debut on January 5, scoring the only goal in his home game with Donegal Celtic . On January 12, in his second match for the club, he already scored a double in a victory match of the 1/16 final of the Northern Ireland Cup against Dungannon Swifts (2: 1) ^[10] . In total, Gary scored six times in that championship, and the team finished seventh.

On July 18, Twigg broke his nose in a preseason game with the Tandarji Rovers . ^[11] According to the results of September 2013, he was recognized as the best player in the league according to journalists , having scored 7 goals in championship games ^[12] .

In the spring of 2016, Twigg was close to concluding a contract with Ballymena United , but, despite a preliminary agreement, refused to transfer to this club ^[13] . In April 2016, the Irish Football Association decided to fine Portadown for £ 5,000 and deprive him of the right to transfer until June 2017 because the club paid Gary’s salary, although he was declared an amateur ^[14] .

On July 16, 2016, Twigg signed a 1 + 1 contract with another club of the Northern Irish Premierrake - Coleraine ^[15] .

In national teams

Twigg played for the youthful (under 16 years old) Scottish team ^[3] .

Father of two children: son Kayren (2008), daughter Georgia (2011) ^[16] . His family lives in Northern Ireland Ballymin and lived there even when Gary played in Ireland ^[16] .

Team

As a Shamrock Rovers player:

• Championship of Ireland :
  • Champion: 2010 , 2011
  • Second place: 2009
• Ireland Cup :
  • Finalist: 2010
• Irish Football League Cup
  • Finalist: 2012
• Setanta Sports Cup :
  • Winner: 2011

As a player at Portadown:

• Northern Ireland Cup :
  • Finalist: 2014/15

As a Coleraine player:

• Northern Ireland Championship :
  • Third place: 2016/17

Personal

As a player in Derby County:

• Sammy Crookes Trophy: 2001

As an Airdrie United player:

• Scotland Football League :
  • Scotland Football League Player of the Month : December 2006

As a Shamrock Rovers player:

• Soccer Player of the Year in Ireland : 2009
• Championship of Ireland :
  • Top scorer: 2009 , 2010 , 2012

As a player at Portadown:

• Northern Ireland Championship :
  • Northern Ireland Football Journalist of the Month : September 2013

• Gary Twig on Twitter
• Profile on the website of FC Shamrock Rovers
• Player profile on soccerbase.com
• Soccerway Profile
• Player profile on Transfermarkt