Karl Sheppard
Forward- Height 5' 11"
- Age 33 years, 2 months
- Place of Birth Portmarnock, Co Dublin, Ireland
- Nationality Republic of Ireland
- Stats based on games populated in our system. They can be viewed below
Karl’s Biography
Karl is an Irish Youth International who began playing for his local club in Portmarnock. At U13 level he signed up with Shelbourne's underage setup and at the age of 16 he made the move to England to join Everton.
He spent three years at Goodison Park before returning to Ireland to join Galway United at the start of the 2010 season. He made 33 league starts that year, scoring 10 times in all competitions, a record which earned him a move to league Champions Shamrock Rovers for 2011.
Karl made his debut for Rovers away to Lisburn Distillery in the Setanta Cup on 14th March 2011, scoring his first goal after 35 minutes. He scored his first league goal for the club against UCD on the 22nd April, and made a total of 24 league appearances, scoring fifteen times in all competitions, as Rovers went on to win the 2011 League title.
Karl also impressed in Europe that year as Rovers became the first Irish side to qualify for he group stages of a European competition, and in January 2012 he signed for English Championship side, Reading FC. But Karl found opportunities thin on the ground at Reading and in February 2013 he returned to Shamrock Rovers on a loan deal. He scored five times in 26 league appearances as Rovers finished a disappointing fifth in the Premier Division table, but he also collected three Cup winner's medals as the Hoops lifted the Setanta Cup (Karl scored in the 7-1 win over Drogheda United in the final), the EA Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup.
Karl joined Shamrock Rovers permanently for the 2014 season but he had an indifferent year, playing nineteen times in the league and scoring just once, in a 2-2 draw with Athlone Town. He also played twice for the First Division team. His stand-out performance was in the semi-final of the EA Sports Cup when he came off the bench to score twice in the last ten minutes to secure a 2-1 win and a place in the final.
In November 2014, Karl left Rovers to sign for John Caulfield at Cork City. He had a productive first year on Leeside, scoring thirteen times in 31 league appearances, as Cork finished runners-up to Dundalk. He also played in the 2015 FAI Cup Final but City lost 1-0 to Dundalk after extra-time. In 2016 City again finished runners-up to Dundalk in the league with Karl scoring seven times from 28 league appearances. City also met Dundalk in the FAI Cup final again with Karl picking up a winners medal as City reversed their fortunes from the previous year and won 1-0 after extra-time.
In November 2017, Karl signed a new two year deal with City despite Dundalk's Stephen Kenny seemingly hinting that a deal had been done with Dundalk.
In January 2021, Karl announced he was retiring from football at the age of 29 after 365 appearances and 89 goals due to a medical condition.
He spent three years at Goodison Park before returning to Ireland to join Galway United at the start of the 2010 season. He made 33 league starts that year, scoring 10 times in all competitions, a record which earned him a move to league Champions Shamrock Rovers for 2011.
Karl made his debut for Rovers away to Lisburn Distillery in the Setanta Cup on 14th March 2011, scoring his first goal after 35 minutes. He scored his first league goal for the club against UCD on the 22nd April, and made a total of 24 league appearances, scoring fifteen times in all competitions, as Rovers went on to win the 2011 League title.
Karl also impressed in Europe that year as Rovers became the first Irish side to qualify for he group stages of a European competition, and in January 2012 he signed for English Championship side, Reading FC. But Karl found opportunities thin on the ground at Reading and in February 2013 he returned to Shamrock Rovers on a loan deal. He scored five times in 26 league appearances as Rovers finished a disappointing fifth in the Premier Division table, but he also collected three Cup winner's medals as the Hoops lifted the Setanta Cup (Karl scored in the 7-1 win over Drogheda United in the final), the EA Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup.
Karl joined Shamrock Rovers permanently for the 2014 season but he had an indifferent year, playing nineteen times in the league and scoring just once, in a 2-2 draw with Athlone Town. He also played twice for the First Division team. His stand-out performance was in the semi-final of the EA Sports Cup when he came off the bench to score twice in the last ten minutes to secure a 2-1 win and a place in the final.
In November 2014, Karl left Rovers to sign for John Caulfield at Cork City. He had a productive first year on Leeside, scoring thirteen times in 31 league appearances, as Cork finished runners-up to Dundalk. He also played in the 2015 FAI Cup Final but City lost 1-0 to Dundalk after extra-time. In 2016 City again finished runners-up to Dundalk in the league with Karl scoring seven times from 28 league appearances. City also met Dundalk in the FAI Cup final again with Karl picking up a winners medal as City reversed their fortunes from the previous year and won 1-0 after extra-time.
In November 2017, Karl signed a new two year deal with City despite Dundalk's Stephen Kenny seemingly hinting that a deal had been done with Dundalk.
In January 2021, Karl announced he was retiring from football at the age of 29 after 365 appearances and 89 goals due to a medical condition.
