Darian MacKinnon

Darian MacKinnon (born 9 October 1985) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Drumchapel United as a midfielder and striker.

Darian MacKinnon

Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-10-09) 9 October 1985[1]
Place of birth	Scotland
Playing position(s)	Midfielder, striker
Club information
Current team	Drumchapel United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Dumbarton United
	Dumbarton Harp
	St. Thomas'
	St. Patrick's Athletic
2010–2012	Clydebank	45	(22)
2012–2020	Hamilton Academical	215	(10)
2012	→ Ayr United (loan)	8	(3)
2020	Partick Thistle	2	(0)
2020–	Drumchapel United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:32, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

MacKinnon spent his early career in Junior football with Dumbarton United, Dumbarton Harp, St. Thomas', St. Patrick's Athletic and Clydebank, before turning professional with Hamilton Academical in 2012. He alsoplayed League football for Ayr United and Partick Thistle, before returning to the Junior ranks with Drumchapel United in 2020.

Early and personal life

At 16 he was charged with assault, and at 18 he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.[2] He spent two years and seven months in a young offenders institution.[2] He became a father for the first time shortly after being released.[2]

Career

MacKinnon began his career with Dumbarton United, Dumbarton Harp, St. Thomas' and St. Patrick's Athletic, before joining Clydebank in May 2010.[3] Playing as a forward at Clydebank, he scored 31 goals in 69 appearances in all competitions.[4] He combined his Junior career with working on a building site.[2]

He turned professional with Hamilton Academical in July 2012,[2][5][6] making the unusual move up from the Junior level directly to the second tier of Scotland's professional setup at the age of 26.[2] After two appearances in cup competitions,[7] he made his debut in the Scottish Football League on 11 August 2012, appearing as an 80th-minute substitute.[8] He joined Ayr United on an emergency loan deal in September 2012.[9] Following his return to Hamilton, MacKinnon scored his team's equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Falkirk after appearing as a substitute,[10] after which he stated that he wanted to start the next game.[11] MacKinnon later spoke about his hopes for a good run in the Scottish Cup,[12] and stated that the quarter-final against Falkirk on 2 March 2013 was the "biggest game" of his career.[13] A few days later, on 8 March 2013, MacKinnon signed a two-year extension to his contract.[14] In April 2013, MacKinnon publicly stated his support for new caretaker manager Alex Neil.[15] MacKinnon came fourth in the Hamilton 'Player of the Year Awards' for 2012–13, his first season in professional football;[16] he stated he would continue to fight for a place in the team.[17]

Once his second season began, MacKinnon spoke about how pleased he was with how the team were doing.[18] At the end of the season, he was part of the Accies team which won promotion to the Scottish Premiership, via a play-off win over Hibernian.[19]

In September 2014, MacKinnon was given a four-match ban after being sent off in a prior game.[20] In January 2016 he signed a new contract with the club until the summer of 2017,[21] and in December 2016 he signed a new contract until May 2019.[22]

Having begun to combine his Accies playing role with youth coaching duties at the club, in June 2018 the Under-17 team coached by MacKinnon (along with Dougie Imrie) became Scottish champions in the age group, qualifying for the UEFA Youth League.[23][24] In July 2018 he became Hamilton's captain.[25] As of March 2019 he was coaching the club's under-16s.[2]

MacKinnon was released by Hamilton in January 2020, and he was then signed by Partick Thistle.[26]

On 5 July 2020, MacKinnon joined Drumchapel United.[27]

Career statistics

As of 10 November 2019

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Scottish Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Clydebank	2009–10	WoS SL First Division	1	0	0	0	—		3[lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
	2010–11		24	8	0	0	—		8[lower-alpha 2]	2	32	10
	2011–12	WoS SL Premier League	20	14	0	0	—		13[lower-alpha 3]	7	33	21
	Total		45	22	0	0	0	0	24	9	69	31
Hamilton Academical	2012–13[28]	First Division	24	1	3	0	1	1	1[lower-alpha 4]	0	29	2
	2013–14[29]	Championship	31	3	1	0	3	0	5[lower-alpha 5]	1	40	4
	2014–15[30]	Premiership	30	3	1	0	3	0	0	0	34	3
	2015–16[31]		31	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	33	1
	2016–17[32]		33	0	3	0	5	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	0	42	0
	2017–18[33]		31	1	1	0	4	1	0	0	36	2
	2018–19[34]		29	1	0	0	4	0	0	0	33	1
	2019–20[35]		6	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		215	10	10	0	26	2	7	1	258	13
Ayr United (loan)	2012–13[28]	Second Division	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
Career total			268	35	10	0	26	2	31	10	335	47

1. One appearance in the Evening Times Cup and two in the West of Scotland Super League play-offs
2. Two appearances in the Central League Cup, one in the Scottish Junior Cup, four in the Sectional League Cup and one in the West of Scotland Cup
3. Five appearances in the Central League Cup, one in the Evening Times Cup, two in the Scottish Junior Cup, four in the Sectional League Cup and one in the West of Scotland Cup
4. Appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup
5. One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; four appearances and a goal in the Premiership play-offs
6. Appearance in the Premiership play-offs

References

1. "Fixtures 2012/13". Hamilton Academical F.C. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
2. Lyall, Jamie (5 March 2019). "Darian MacKinnon: Hamilton captain on losing the plot, lifting bricks & being behind bars". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
3. "MacKinnon getting fit by climbing the football ladder". Scottish Professional Football League. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
4. "Profile: Darian MacKinnon". Clydebank F.C. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
5. "MacKinnon leaves Clydebank". Clydebank Live. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
6. Andy Galloway (20 July 2012). "Dumbarton man signs for Hamilton Accies". Lennox Herald.
7. Andrew McGilvray (9 August 2012). "Striker hopes to make a name for himself at Accies, after making the step-up from junior side Clydebank". Hamilton Advertiser.
8. "Raith Rovers 2-0 Hamilton". BBC Sport. 11 August 2012.
9. "MacKinnon to go on loan". Hamilton Academical F.C. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014.
10. Andrew McGilvray (10 January 2013). "Darian strike earns point". Hamilton Advertiser.
11. Andrew McGilvray (10 January 2013). "Darian hopes to give Accies boss selection headache". Hamilton Advertiser.
12. Andrew McGilvray (31 January 2013). "Daz:We'll get back up to Par at East End Park". Hamilton Advertiser.
13. Andrew McGilvray (28 February 2013). "Darian: This is the biggest game of my life". Hamilton Advertiser.
14. "MacKinnon extends deal". Hamilton Academical F.C. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014.
15. Andrew McGilvray (11 April 2013). "Daz: We'll run through brick walls for Alex". Hamilton Advertiser.
16. "@acciesfc Twitter Player of the Year". Hamilton Academical F.C. 6 May 2013. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
17. Andrew McGilvray (23 May 2013). "Daz won't take it easy next season". Hamilton Advertiser.
18. Andrew McGilvray (13 September 2013). "Darian tells pundits to keep talking up Dundee - so Hamilton can go about their business quietly". Hamilton Advertiser. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
19. "Hibernian 0 Hamilton Academical 2; Hamilton win 4-3 on penalties: match report". Daily Telegraph. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
20. "Hamilton: Darian MacKinnon given four-game suspension". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
21. "Hamilton: Dougie Imrie & Darian MacKinnon agree new contracts". BBC Sport. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
22. "Hamilton: Darian MacKinnon signs new deal, Lennard Sowah to follow". BBC Sport. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
23. "Hamilton Accies coach George Cairns says under-17s feat won't be repeated". Daily Record. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
24. "2018-19 UEFA Youth League". Hamilton Academical F.C. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
25. https://twitter.com/HamAdSport1/status/1018166782736175104
26. "Hamilton: Darian MacKinnon joins Partick Thistle as Brian Easton signs new deal". BBC Sport. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
27. Pirie, Mark (5 July 2020). "Hamilton Accies hero Darian MacKinnon makes switch to seventh tier Drumchapel". dailyrecord.
28. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
29. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
30. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
31. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
32. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
33. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
34. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
35. "Games played by Darian MacKinnon in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2019.