Luke Wade-Slater

Summary

Luke Wade-Slater (born 2 March 1998) is an Irish footballer who plays for Longford Town in the League of Ireland First Division.

Luke Wade-Slater
Personal information
Full name Luke Wade-Slater[1]
Date of birth (1998-03-02) 2 March 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Position(s) Defender / Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Longford Town
Youth career
2012–2015 St Kevin's Boys[2]
2015–2017 Stevenage
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Stevenage 2 (0)
2018Kings Langley (loan) 6 (5)
2019–2020 Bohemians 31 (3)
2020–2021 Larne 13 (0)
2021–2023 Warrenpoint Town 65 (6)
2023 Drogheda United 5 (0)
2024– Longford Town 0 (0)
International career
2015 Republic of Ireland U17 5 (0)
2016 Republic of Ireland U18 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:29, 7 December 2023 (GMT)

Club career edit

Stevenage edit

Wade-Slater joined Stevenage as an academy scholar in the summer of 2015, having previously played at Irish academy team St Kevin's Boys.[3] He played regularly for Stevenage's under-18 team for two seasons,[4] also playing in the club's FA Youth Cup run during the 2015–16 season.[5] He made his first-team debut for Stevenage on 8 November 2016, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute in a 4–0 EFL Trophy victory over Southend United at Broadhall Way.[6] He subsequently signed his first professional contract with the club on 23 May 2017.[4] Wade-Slater made his Football League debut as a second-half substitute in Stevenage's 1–0 away defeat to Crewe Alexandra on 7 October 2017.[7] He signed a "new and improved" contract with the Hertfordshire club on 6 December 2017.[8]

Having made no first-team appearances three months into the 2018–19 season,[9] Wade-Slater joined Kings Langley of the Southern League Premier Division South on loan on 6 November 2018, with the agreement running until January 2019.[10] He made his debut for Kings Langley on 10 November 2018, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1–0 away victory at Farnborough.[11] He went on to score in each of his first five appearances for Kings Langley, making six appearances during the loan spell, before being recalled by Stevenage in December 2018.[12][13]

Bohemians edit

2019 season edit

Following his recall from Kings Langley in December 2018, Wade-Slater signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Bohemians, officially joining on 1 January 2019. On his debut against Finn Harps on 15 February 2019, he assisted the winning goal for Dinny Corcoran. His first goal for the club came in a Scottish Challenge Cup loss to Airdrieonians on 7 September.[14] He scored in the 28th minute of a 2-1 home win against champions Dundalk on 11 October. He ended his debut season at Bohemians having played 34 games in total, scoring 2 goals and notching up 5 assists.

2020 season edit

Wade-Slater featured in three of Bohemians' four opening games of the 2020 season before it was shortened to 18 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the campaign was resumed in August, he was not included in any of Keith Long's matchday squads. During his time at the club, he made a total of 38 appearances.

Larne edit

Wade-Slater signed for NIFL Premiership club Larne on 5 October 2020.[15] His made his debut off the bench on 7 November in a goalless draw with Glentoran. He featured sporadically, coming off the bench in a number of games across the season. Wade-Slater played a total of 13 games for Larne in the 2020/21 season, and left the club at the end of the season.

Warrenpoint Town edit

2021–22 season edit

It was announced on 23 June 2021, that Wade-Slater had signed a contract with NIFL Premiership side Warrenpoint Town.[citation needed] He assisted the winning goal on his debut, a 2-1 win at home against Ballymena United. On 27 November he scored his first goals for the club, including an 89th minute winner, in a 2-1 comeback win away at Carrick Rangers. One week later, he continued his scoring streak with another goal, a header against Ballymena. On 5 February 2022 he scored both goals in a 2-2 draw with Glenavon. He netted in a play-off game against Carrick Rangers on 16 April, which Warrenpoint lost 2-1, condemning them to relegation. Wade-Slater made a total of 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring 6 times.

2022–23 season edit

Wade-Slater's first minutes of the 2022/23 NIFL Championship season came in a 3-0 loss to Dundela on 20 August 2022. He scored his first and only goal of the season on 31 January 2023 in a 4-0 win against Knockbreda. Warrenpoint were due to face Dungannon Swifts in a promotion/relegation playoff, with a chance to return to the Premiership, however their Premiership license application was rejected, as was their Championship application. Warrenpoint reached an agreement with the IFA to drop to the third tier,[16] and Wade-Slater was allowed to leave the club after making 28 appearances over the course of the season.

Drogheda United edit

Wade-Slater returned to the League of Ireland in July 2023 when he signed for Premier Division club Drogheda United. He made his debut as a substitute on 18 August in an FAI Cup tie away to Kerry FC. His first start came in a 5-0 loss away to Shamrock Rovers on 22 October. Wade-Slater made a further 5 appearances in all competitions as Drogheda finished in 7th place in the league.

Longford Town edit

On 7 December 2023, it was announced that Wade-Slater had signed for League of Ireland First Division side Longford Town for the 2024 season.[17]

International career edit

Wade-Slater appeared regularly for Republic of Ireland at under-17 level, making his debut in February 2015 and earning five caps throughout 2015.[9][18] He was then called up to play for the under-18 team in May 2016, playing three times within the space of a month.

Career statistics edit

As of match played 3 November 2023
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stevenage 2016–17[19] EFL League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
2017–18[20] 2 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 4 0
2018–19[21] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 5 0
Kings Langley (loan) 2018–19[12] SFL Premier Division South 6 5 0 0 0 0 6 5
Bohemians 2019 LOI Premier Division 28 1 3 0 2 0 1[b] 1 34 2
2020 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Total 31 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 38 2
Larne 2020–21 NIFL Premiership 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Warrenpoint Town 2021-22 NIFL Premiership 32 5 0 0 3 0 5 1 40 6
2022-23 NIFL Championship 28 1 1 0 2 0 4 0 35 1
Total 60 6 1 0 5 0 0 0 9 1 75 7
Drogheda United 2023 LOI Premier Division 5 0 2 0 7 0
Longford Town 2024 LOI First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 117 12 7 0 7 0 0 0 13 2 144 14
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup

Honours edit

Larne

References edit

  1. ^ "EFL Released and Retained List 2015–16". English Football League. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Luke Wade-Slater signs professional terms with Stevenage FC". St Kevin's Boys F.C. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Stevenage sign 4 SKB Boys". St Kevin's Boys F.C. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Luke Slater signs professional terms". Stevenage F.C. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Boroguide – Luke Wade-Slater". Boroguide. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Match Report: Stevenage 4 Southend United 0". Stevenage F.C. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 1–0 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Luke Wade-Slater pens new deal". Stevenage F.C. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Soccerway – Luke Wade-Slater". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Wade-Slater joins Kings Langley on loan". Stevenage F.C. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Farnborough 0–1 Kings Langley". Kings Langley F.C. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Kings Langley – Fixtures & Results – 2018–19". Kings Langley F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Luke Wade-Slater joins Bohemian FC". Stevenage F.C. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  14. ^ ""Airdreoinians 3-2 Bohemians"". airdriefc.com. 7 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Wade-Slater joins Larne from Bohemians". BBC Sport.
  16. ^ ""Warrenpoint Town set to drop into PIL as Co Down club opt against arbitration". Belfast Telegraph. 23 May 2023.
  17. ^ https://ltfc.ie/2023/12/luke-wade-slater-2024/
  18. ^ "UEFA – Luke Wade-Slater". UEFA. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Games played by Luke Wade-Slater in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Games played by Luke Wade-Slater in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Games played by Luke Wade-Slater in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  22. ^ "County Antrim Shield final: Larne defeat Glens in Seaview shootout". BBC Sport. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.

External links edit

  • Luke Wade-Slater at Soccerbase