Cushley signs for Carrick

Former Crusaders striker David Cushley has signed for Carrick Rangers.
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Cushley, 31, becomes Stuart King’s second new recruit of the summer following his departure from the Seaview side just over a week ago.

The winger started out his playing days at Ballymena United, making his debut as a 17-year-old in a Co Antrim Shield fixture against Dundela and was quickly dubbed one of the best young players in the country.

Cushley went on to become more and more involved in the first team at the Showgrounds, but ultimately felt he required more game time and so left to join former manager Tommy Wright at Lisburn Distillery.

David Cushley has signed for Carrick Rangers.David Cushley has signed for Carrick Rangers.
David Cushley has signed for Carrick Rangers.

It was with this move that Cushley really made a name for himself, as he helped to fire ‘The Whites’ to a top six finish while also scoring a late winner in the League Cup final in his first campaign.

After two seasons at New Grosvenor, he was then back in the sky blue of Ballymena under the tutelage of Glenn Ferguson where he built up a reputation for scoring outrageous goals, most notably a strike from the halfway line versus Linfield.

After amassing 240 appearances and scoring 65 goals for Ballymena, Cushley then made the move to north Belfast in the summer of 2016.

Spending five successful years at Seaview, he scored the goal that won Crusaders the Danske Bank Premiership in 2017/18 and also netted an injury time winner in the Co Antrim Shield final against Linfield.

However, his struggle for game time of late ended in a mutual agreement that saw him leave ‘the hatchetmen’ and will now link up with his new teammates at Rangers when pre-season starts in the coming weeks.

Pleased to have signed for Carrick David said: “I am excited to sign and can’t wait to get started in pre-season. I’m looking forward to the campaign ahead and getting more game time under my belt so I’m raring for the season to start so I can get going.”

Delighted to recruit the talented attacker, Carrick Rangers boss Stuart King added: “This is an absolutely massive signing for us and I am delighted to have him on board.

“I know what David is all about as I have known him a long time and for us to get him, given there were several other Premiership clubs chasing his signature, is brilliant. He is going to make a massive difference to our attacking options going forward so I’m over the moon to get the deal done.”

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Click here to read Chris Ramsey signs for Ballyclare Comrades

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