Oscar Paul McGowan is a Scottish footballer who currently plays as a striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 for Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club St. Mirren

St. Mirren F.C.

St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...

. McGowan has also played for Greenock Morton

Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....

, Hamilton Academical

Hamilton Academical F.C.

Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...

 and Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

.

Celtic

McGowan made his Celtic debut in the 5–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...

 in September 2007.
He scored his first senior goal for Celtic on 7 August 2008 in a pre-season friendly against Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 at Celtic Park. He had the chance to score his second senior goal to win the game for Celtic but his shot hit the crossbar and the game ended 1–1. McGowan made his Champions League debut against Villareal CF on 10 December 2008, as a 75th minute substitute for Aiden McGeady

Aiden McGeady

Aiden McGeady is a Scottish-born Irish footballer who currently plays as a winger for Russian club Spartak Moscow. Although born and brought up in Scotland, McGeady plays internationally for the Republic of Ireland, a country he qualifies for through his grandparents...

. Celtic won the match 2–0 but finished bottom of their group.

On 17 December 2009, just over a year to the day of his European debut, McGowan made his Europa League debut in a 3–3 draw away to Rapid Vienna

SK Rapid Wien

The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

. He made an impact in the 91st minute by scoring his first competitive goal for the Hoops to complete a comeback from 3–0 down to draw 3–3.

Greenock Morton

McGowan was loaned out to Greenock Morton

Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....

 for the 2006–07 season

2006-07 in Scottish football

The 2006–07 season was the 110th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2006:*9 July: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and...

. He played as a striker for Morton and scored a total of 16 goals in 44 competitive matches. He was the club's top scorer and received a League winners medal as Morton won the Scottish Second Division

Scottish Football League Second Division

The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....

. He was chosen in the 'Team of the year' in the Second Division and 3rd place in the 'Player of the Year' award. Morton failed to land the player in the summer transfer window when their bid – approaching a six-figure sum – was rejected.

Hamilton Academical

McGowan was loaned out to SPL side Hamilton Academical

Hamilton Academical F.C.

Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...

 at the beginning of the January 2009 transfer window, and started his first game with an assist for Chris Swailes

Chris Swailes

Christopher William Swailes is a retired English footballer. He has previously played for Ipswich Town under former Scotland manager, George Burley.-Early days:...

 in the 1–0 win over Ross County

Ross County F.C.

Ross County Football Club are a Scottish professional football team from the town of Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty. Founded in 1929 they currently compete in the Scottish Football League First Division and play their home matches at Victoria Park. Prior to the 1994–95 season they played in the...

 in the Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

.

St. Mirren

In July 2010, McGowan was again sent out on loan, this time to St. Mirren

St. Mirren F.C.

St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...

. He scored his first competitive goal for St. Mirren in a League Cup match against Ross County

Ross County F.C.

Ross County Football Club are a Scottish professional football team from the town of Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty. Founded in 1929 they currently compete in the Scottish Football League First Division and play their home matches at Victoria Park. Prior to the 1994–95 season they played in the...

. Throughout the season, he played a total of 39 matches and scored 6 goals in all competitions for St Mirren.

On 6 June 2011, Paul signed a two-year deal with St Mirren, having had a successful loan spell. Paul soon became a fans' favourite for his close control and dribbling skills.

By November

November

November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar...

 2011, Paul had attracted interest from English clubs, believed to be Crystal Palace FC, and Wigan Athletic FC.

Honours

Dirty Greenock Morton

• Scottish Second Division: 1

2006–07

2006-07 in Scottish football

The 2006–07 season was the 110th season of competitive football in Scotland.-2006:*9 July: Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen is banned for the club's pre-season trip to South Africa, following an incident on the outbound flight. Manager Paul Le Guen cited "wholly inappropriate and...

Individual

• SFL Young Player of the Month: 1

January 2007

External links

• Paul McGowan Celtic FC