Sean Long (footballer)
Irish footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sean Martin Long (born 2 May 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for National League club Forest Green Rovers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sean Martin Long[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 May 1995[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Full-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Forest Green Rovers | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2012 | Cherry Orchard | ||
| 2012–2013 | Reading | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2017 | Reading | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Luton Town (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2016 | → Braintree Town (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Lincoln City (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Lincoln City | 17 | (0) |
| 2018–2024 | Cheltenham Town | 190 | (7) |
| 2024– | Forest Green Rovers | 36 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| Republic of Ireland U16 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U17 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U18 | |||
| 2013–2014 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 12 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 11 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:21, 30 April 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Reading
Long joined Reading from Irish club Cherry Orchard in 2012.[3] He made his professional debut on 26 August 2014 as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 League Cup win over Scunthorpe United.[4]
On 16 October 2015, Long signed for League Two club Luton Town on an initial one-month loan.[5] He made his debut for the club a day later in a 2–1 defeat away to Crawley Town.[6] Long made four further appearances, including three in League Two and one in the FA Cup, before his loan was extended on 16 November 2015 until 2 January 2016, continuing to cover for Stephen O'Donnell, who was recovering from a double hernia injury.[7] He returned to Reading on 5 January 2016, having made 11 appearances for the club in all competitions.[8]
On 15 March 2016, Long signed for National League club Braintree Town on loan until the end of the season.[9] He made his debut for the club later that day in a 0–0 draw with Gateshead.[10] Long made nine league appearances for Braintree,[11] helping them secure a place in the National League play-offs after a 3–0 win at home to Altrincham on 30 April 2016 and would face Grimsby Town in the semi-finals over two legs.[12] He featured in the semi-final first leg as Braintree earned a 1–0 away win, gaining a slender advantage over their opponents.[13] Long featured again in the semi-final second leg, as Braintree were defeated 2–0 after extra time and 2–1 on aggregate, ending their hopes of promotion.[14]
On 9 May 2016, Long was one of 15 Reading youth-team players offered a new contract by the club,[15] confirmation of his new deal was signed on 1 July 2016.[16]
On 28 July 2016, following a pre-season trial, Long signed a six-month loan deal with League Two club Cambridge United.[17] He made his debut on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 1–1 draw at home to Barnet.[18] Long made 12 appearances and returned to Reading following the expiration of his loan spell.[18][19]
Lincoln City
On 5 January 2017, Long signed a loan deal with National League club Lincoln City for the remainder of the 2016–17 season, with a view to a permanent transfer.[20] He made his debut two days later in Lincoln's 2–2 draw away to Ipswich Town in the FA Cup third round, having entered the match as a stoppage time substitute and completed the loan spell with 19 appearances.[11]
Reading announced that Long would be released when his contract expired at the end of the season.[21] He was named to Lincoln's retained list for 2017–18.[22] Long came on as a 95th-minute substitute as Lincoln beat Shrewsbury Town 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in the 2018 EFL Trophy Final on 8 April 2018.[23]
Cheltenham Town
Long signed for League Two club Cheltenham Town on 26 June 2018 on a two-year contract, having rejected a new contract with Lincoln.[24] He signed a one-year contract extension in September 2019.[25] Cheltenham reached the League Two play-offs in 2019–20 with a fourth-place finish on points per game after the season was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom,[26] and were beaten 3–2 on aggregate by Northampton Town in the semi-final.[27] He made 22 appearances and scored two goals in 2020–21 as Cheltenham won the League Two title and promotion to League One.[28][29]
On 22 May 2024, the club announced the player had rejected a new contract and would be leaving.[30]
Forest Green Rovers
On 24 May 2024, it was confirmed that Long had signed for newly relegated National League club Forest Green Rovers.[31]
International career
Long has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level.[32] He made 12 appearances for the under-19 team between 2013 and 2014.[33]
Long was called up to the under-21s for the first time in May 2015,[34] along with Reading teammates Pierce Sweeney and Shane Griffin.
Career statistics
- As of the match played 26 April 2025
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Reading | 2013–14[35] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[36] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16[37] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17[18] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Luton Town (loan) | 2015–16[37] | League Two | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Braintree Town (loan) | 2015–16[11] | National League | 9 | 0 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Cambridge United (loan) | 2016–17[18] | League Two | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Lincoln City (loan) | 2016–17[11] | National League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Lincoln City | 2017–18[38] | League Two | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| Total | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| Cheltenham Town | 2018–19[39] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2019–20[40] | League Two | 34 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[e] | 1 | 43 | 2 | |
| 2020–21[28] | League Two | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
| 2021–22[41] | League One | 39 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 2022–23[42] | League One | 45 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 2023–24[43] | League One | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| Total | 190 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 215 | 8 | ||
| Forest Green Rovers | 2024–25[44] | National League | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Career total | 282 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 335 | 8 | ||
- Appearances in National League play-offs
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- Six appearances in EFL Trophy, one in League Two play-offs
- Three appearances and one goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League Two play-offs
Honours
Reading
Lincoln City
Cheltenham Town
