Matt Reilly (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Michael Reilly | ||
| Date of birth | 22 March 1874 | ||
| Place of birth | Donnybrook, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 9 December 1954 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Benburb | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1893–1899 | Royal Artillery | 42 | (0) |
| 1895 | → Southampton (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1896 | → Freemantle (loan) | ||
| 1899–1904 | Portsmouth | 138 | (0) |
| 1904–1905 | Dundee | 3 | (0) |
| 1905–1906 | Notts County | 16 | (0) |
| 1906–1907 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | (0) |
| 1907–1909 | Shelbourne | ||
| National team | |||
| 1900–1902 | Ireland | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Matthew Michael "Matt" Reilly (22 March 1874 – 9 December 1954) was an Irish international goalkeeper who played most of his career with Portsmouth in the Southern League. He also had spells with Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in the Southern League, with Notts County in the Football League, with Dundee in the Scottish Football League and with Shelbourne in the Irish League. Throughout his career he was known as either "Gunner Reilly" or "Ginger".
Reilly was born in Donnybrook, Dublin and played Gaelic football in his youth. He joined the Royal Artillery and while serving in Glasgow took up association football as a goalkeeper with Junior side, Benburb.
By 1893, he was a member of the Royal Artillery side which reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1896 as well as two Army Cup finals. In the 1896 Amateur Cup final, played against Bishop Auckland, Reilly was voted "Man of the Match" when he kept the score down to a 1–0 defeat. There is evidence that because of his Gaelic football background where players can handle the ball. As a goalkeeper when he made a save he would dribble the ball downfield Gaelic football fashion. Because of this practice the Box was added to the soccer pitch preventing the goalkeeper from touching the ball with his hands outside the box.
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