Limerick FC announce the departure of Freddy Hall

Limerick FC have released the news that goalkeeper Freddy Hall has left the club following over two years service with the Super Blues. A statement on the club’s official website and Facebook page thanked Hall for his dedication and contribution during his time with the club. The statement read;

“We place on record our sincere thanks to Freddy for the role he has played in our club, and we send our very best wishes to Freddy and his young family in their future.”

The statement continued by revealing that the motivation for the move was Hall’s desire to return home for personal reasons and that the goalkeeper’s friendly persona had helped him become a very popular figure at the club;

“The Bermuda native has been an extremely popular figure since joining Limerick in the summer of 2015 and has undoubtedly left his mark on the club, on and off the field, with his friendly approach particularly with our younger supporters appreciated by all.”

Furthermore, the club stated that an interview with the former Limerick player will be available for viewing on the Facebook page tomorrow where he will explain his reasons for the sudden departure.

Hall joined Limerick in the summer of 2015 while the club were on a dismal run and without a win in 22 games. Hall’s debut came in a 4-0 defeat to Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght. The club had struggled to replace veteran net minder Barry Ryan, who was a hard act to follow following two inclusions in the Airtricity League PFAI team of the year.

Hall made an immediate impact as the team’s fortunes quickly turned around. He made some crucial saves to help prevent the team from being relegated automatically when it looked a certainty in July. One of his finest contributions came on the final day of the season at the Showgrounds when he saved a Dinny Corcoran penalty as Limerick won 2-3 to enter into the promotion/relegation play-off. Despite relegation, Freddy signed a contract for the following season and was an integral part of the team who bounced back to the premier division at the first time of asking.

Ex-Limerick manager Martin Russell signed the experienced Airtricity League goalkeeper Brendan Clarke ahead of the 2017 premier division campaign but Hall remained Russell’s first choice. However, a couple of high profile mistakes, particularly against Finn Harps at the Markets Field, cost Freddy his place in the team and he failed to regain it for the rest of the season. Perhaps it was surprising that he agreed to sign for another season at the end of the last campaign as it was common knowledge that Brendan Clarke would still be there and was the established first choice.

However, the recent departure of goalkeeping coach Eddie Hickey may have pushed Hall towards the exit as he credited Hickey as the main reason behind his return to the club after relegation in 2015. His last appearance came as an unused substitute on Saturday evening in the victory over Sligo Rovers.