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Damien McCrory

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Damien Paul McCrory (born 23 February 1990) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He made 442 appearances in all competitions during a 15-year career.

Damien McCrory
Personal information
Full name Damien Paul McCrory[1]
Date of birth (1990-02-23) 23 February 1990 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth Limerick, Ireland[3]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[4]
Position(s) Wingback, winger
Youth career
2006–2008 Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Plymouth Argyle 0 (0)
2008–2009 → Port Vale (loan) 12 (0)
2009 → Port Vale (loan) 5 (0)
2009–2010 → Grimsby Town (loan) 10 (0)
2010–2012 Dagenham & Redbridge 76 (1)
2012–2019 Burton Albion 196 (10)
2017–2018 → Portsmouth (loan) 3 (0)
2019–2021 Notts County 28 (1)
2021–2022 Nuneaton Borough 23 (2)
2022–2023 Grantham Town 29 (1)
Total 382 (15)
International career
2008 Republic of Ireland U18 2 (0)
2009 Republic of Ireland U19 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

First signing professional forms with Plymouth Argyle in 2008, he spent the next two years on loan at Port Vale and Grimsby Town, before joining Dagenham & Redbridge in 2010. He played for the "Daggers" in their victory in the 2010 League Two play-off final. He also won international caps for his country at under-18 and under-19 levels. In June 2012, he signed a two-year deal with Burton Albion. He helped Burton to the League Two title in 2014–15 and then to promotion out of League One in 2015–16. He joined Portsmouth on loan in August 2017. After his seven-year spell at Burton ended, he moved on to Notts County in August 2019. After two seasons with Notts County, he moved on to Nuneaton Borough before joining Grantham Town in July 2022. He won the Lincolnshire Senior Cup with Grantham in 2023.

Club career

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Plymouth Argyle

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Having been signed to Plymouth Argyle's Centre of Excellence in August 2006,[5] McCrory rose through the ranks to earn a twelve-month professional contract with the club in May 2008.[6] He started the 2008–09 season positively by joining the first-team squad in Austria on their annual tour, scoring in one of the games against SpVgg Greuther Fürth.[7] He was given shirt number 29 for his first professional season.[8] McCrory joined League Two side Port Vale on loan in October 2008, looking to gain some league experience.[9] He made his league debut against Shrewsbury Town on 11 October, replacing Paul Edwards on 54 minutes as Vale went on to win 2–1. He fitted into the side well, and Vale were keen to see him stay on loan until January 2009.[10] McCrory returned to Plymouth at the end of 2008,[11] despite manager Dean Glover's best efforts to extend the deal further; Plymouth wanted him back at Home Park.[12]

He returned to Port Vale on a one-month loan in late August 2009.[13] Vale were now under the management of Micky Adams, who initiated the loan after hearing how well McCrory had performed for the club in his previous spell[14] from the club's chief scout Ray Williams and youth team manager Mark Grew.[15] Plymouth had to help pay the teenager's wages, as Vale had already spent their playing budget with limited funds.[16] After the spell was up McCrory was all ready to return to Plymouth, though his parent club then had a last minute change of heart and agreed to fund his loan at Vale Park for a further month.[17][18] In total he made just two starts and three substitute appearance in his two months at Vale Park, before he returned to Plymouth to try to impress the new coaching regime that had been established in his absence.[19]

On 9 November 2009, McCrory joined League Two side Grimsby Town on an initial one-month loan.[20][21] McCrory cemented a place in the "Mariners" side, playing as the club's regular left-back for his two months at Blundell Park, being preferred to club left-back Joe Widdowson. Argyle recalled McCrory from his loan spell the following January; he had played for Grimsby eleven times in all competitions.[22]

Dagenham & Redbridge

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Despite interest to sign him permanently from Grimsby, McCrory joined League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge in February 2010 for a five-figure fee.[23] He signed a 2+1⁄2-year deal with the club.[24] He quickly established himself as the club's first choice left-back.[25] He went on to play for the "Daggers" in the play-off final victory over Rotherham United; during the Wembley final, he set up Paul Benson for the first goal of a 3–2 win.[26] He scored his first senior goal on 10 August, as he struck a "sublime" 25 yards (23 m) free kick to provide the opening goal of a 2–1 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup.[27] He played a total of 23 League One games in 2010–11, as the club suffered relegation back into the Football League's basement division.

McCrory re-established himself as a consistent first-team member in the 2011–12 campaign. He gave away a penalty in the 3–1 defeat to Southend United in the Football League Trophy, which was saved. Still, he made amends for his actions by scoring a then-equalizing goal from a 66th-minute free kick.[28] On 15 October, he was a key figure in the club's 3–2 defeat at home to his former club Plymouth Argyle; he provided assists for both of Dagenham's goal, only to be sent off in the 90th minute after fouling Isaac Vassell in the box – Simon Walton converted the resulting penalty to net the winning goal for Argyle.[29] The red card was later rescinded.[30] Seven days later he scored his first ever league goal, netting a free kick to provide a late consolidation goal in a 5–2 home defeat by Aldershot Town.[31] In May 2012, McCrory was released by Dagenham after being told he would not be offered a new contract.[32]

Burton Albion

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In June 2012 he signed a two-year deal with Burton Albion after impressing the club's management with the way he caused problems for Jacques Maghoma the previous season.[33][34] Manager Gary Rowett said that he would provide competition to veteran left-back Aaron Webster.[35] He opened his goalscoring account for the club on 17 November, in a 3–2 win over former club Dagenham, and was rewarded with a place on the League Two Team of the Week.[36] Burton reached the play-offs at the end of the 2012–13 season, but were defeated 5–4 by Bradford City at the semi-final stage.[37]

He made 47 appearances in the 2013–14 campaign, helping the "Brewers" to secure a play-off spot. However, he damaged cartilage in his knee joint in April and was ruled out of action for four months.[38] In his absence Burton went on to lose in the play-off final. He signed a new two-year contract with Burton in July 2014.[39] He scored five goals in 36 appearances in the 2014–15 campaign as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink managed Burton to the League Two title. He was named in the Football League team of the week after scoring the opening goal of a 3–0 win at Gillingham on 12 December 2015.[40] He made 41 appearances in the 2015–16 season as Burton won promotion out of League One for the first time in the club's history.[41] New manager Nigel Clough offered him a new contract in the summer.[42] McCrory stalled before eventually agreeing to a two-year deal.[43][33] However, he was dropped at the start of the 2016–17 campaign as Clough initiated a 3–5–2 formation and did not rate McCrory as a wing-back, instead preferring to play Tom Flanagan and John Brayford.[44][45]

He started the 2017–18 season with five appearances to his name, but with Stephen Warnock returning from injury, Clough decided to allow McCrory to leave the club on loan.[45] On 31 August 2017, McCrory joined League One side Portsmouth on a five-month loan deal after loanee Tareiq Holmes-Dennis picked up a serious injury.[46][47] Set to compete with Brandon Haunstrup for the left-back position at Fratton Park, he stated his aim was to find regular football Kenny Jackett's "Pompey".[48] However, he twisted his knee after three games and was forced to undergo surgery, and was unable to feature again for the remainder of his loan spell.[49][50] He was offered a new contract by Burton at the end of the 2017–18 season, following their relegation out of the Championship.[51] However, the form of rival left-backs Reece Hutchinson and Colin Daniel meant that he was limited to 20 appearances during the 2018–19 season and was this time not offered a new contract in the summer.[52]

Notts County

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On 1 August 2019, McCrory was one of six players to sign for newly relegated National League club Notts County, having impressed manager Neal Ardley on trial.[53] He scored one goal in 30 appearances for the "Magpies" in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Notts County in the play-offs in third-place.[54] County reached the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, though McCrory was not in the match day squad as they lost 3–1 to Harrogate Town.[55] He played just three games of the 2020–21 season after missing much of the campaign with a knee injury.[56][57] He was released in the summer though head coach Ian Burchnall allowed him to return to pre-season training at Meadow Lane whilst he searched for a new club.[58]

Nuneaton Borough

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In July 2021, he dropped down two divisions to sign for Southern League Premier Division Central side Nuneaton Borough on a free transfer.[59] He made 29 appearances in the 2021–22 campaign, scoring two goals.[60]

Grantham Town

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On 6 July 2022, McCrory joined Northern Premier League Division One East club Grantham Town following their relegation.[61] He featured 35 times in the 2022–23 campaign, including in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup final victory over Spalding United.[60][62]

International career

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McCrory played twice for the Republic of Ireland under-18s in 2008, before being called up to the represent the under-19s the next year. Two of the under-19 games took place in Belgium for qualification to the 2009 Under-19 UEFA Championship. A 6–1 defeat to Switzerland ended Irish hopes of qualification for the tournament.[63] Two days later, on 12 June 2009, they defeated Sweden 2–1.[64] He won a total of nine caps for the under-19 team.[65]

Career statistics

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As of match played 22 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Plymouth Argyle 2008–09[66] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009–10[67] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Port Vale (loan) 2008–09[66] League Two 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
2009–10[67] League Two 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Total 17 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
Grimsby Town (loan) 2009–10[67] League Two 10 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 11 0
Dagenham & Redbridge 2009–10[67] League Two 20 0 0 0 0 0 3[b] 0 23 0
2010–11[68] League One 23 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 26 1
2011–12[69] League Two 33 1 2 0 1 0 1[a] 1 37 2
Total 76 1 4 0 2 1 4 1 86 3
Burton Albion 2012–13[70] League Two 42 1 4 0 3 0 3[c] 0 52 1
2013–14[71] League Two 40 1 4 0 2 0 1[a] 0 47 1
2014–15[72] League Two 34 5 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 36 5
2015–16[73] League One 38 3 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 40 3
2016–17[74] Championship 16 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 18 0
2017–18[75] Championship 11 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 0
2018–19[76] League One 15 0 1 0 2 0 2[a] 0 20 0
Total 196 10 10 0 12 0 8 0 226 10
Portsmouth (loan) 2017–18[75] League One 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Notts County 2019–20[56] National League 25 1 3 0 0 0 2[d] 0 30 1
2020–21[56] National League 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 28 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 33 1
Nuneaton Borough 2021–22[60] Southern League
Premier Division Central 		23 2 2 0 0 0 4[e] 0 29 2
Grantham Town 2022–23[77] Northern Premier League
Division One East 		29 1 4 0 0 0 2[f] 0 35 1
Career total 382 15 25 0 14 1 21 1 442 17
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in the League Two play-offs
  3. ^ One appearance in the Football League Trophy and two in the League Two play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in the FA Trophy
  5. ^ 2 appearances in the FA Trophy and 2 appearances in the Birmingham Senior Cup
  6. ^ Appearances in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup

Honours

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Dagenham & Redbridge

Burton Albion

Grantham Town

References

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  1. ^ "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Damien McCrory - Defender - First team - Notts County FC". www.nottscountyfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Profile". pompeyrama.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  4. ^ "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2009/10". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Samba and Seip sign for Plymouth". BBC Sport. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  6. ^ "Argyle sign three young prospects". BBC Sport. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Plymouth draw opener with Germans". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  8. ^ "Easter is given Argyle 10 shirt". BBC Sport. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  9. ^ "Youngster McCrory joins Valiants". BBC Sport. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  10. ^ "Valiants extend McCrory loan deal". BBC News. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  11. ^ Shaw, Steve (30 December 2008). "Breaking news: McCrory to leave Port Vale". The Sentinel. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
  12. ^ "McCrory ends Valiants loan spell". BBC Sport. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  13. ^ "McCrory returns to Vale on loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  14. ^ Shaw, Steve (24 August 2009). "Port Vale: McCrory to join on loan". The Sentinel. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  15. ^ Shaw, Steve (25 August 2009). "Port Vale: McCrory eyes lengthy stay". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  16. ^ Shaw, Steve (25 August 2009). "Port Vale: McCrory vows to hit ground running". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  17. ^ "McCrory U-Turn". port-vale.co.uk. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  18. ^ "Breaking News: McCrory back at Vale". The Sentinel. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  19. ^ "Vale hold on to striker Haldane". BBC Sport. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  20. ^ "Grimsby snap up defender McCrory". BBC Sport. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  21. ^ "Defender Joins Town". grimsby-townfc.co.uk. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  22. ^ "News Round-Up". grimsby-townfc.co.uk. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  23. ^ "Daggers Sign McCrory". daggers.co.uk. 1 February 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  24. ^ "Dagenham & Redbridge sign Plymouth's Damien McCrory". BBC Sport. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  25. ^ "Gareth Gwillim up for Dagenham & Redbridge challenge". BBC Sport. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  26. ^ a b "Dag & Red 3 - 2 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  27. ^ "MK Dons 2 - 1 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  28. ^ Phillips, Craig (4 October 2011). "Dagenham & Redbridge 1, Southend United 3". Southend Echo. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  29. ^ "Dag & Red 2 - 3 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  30. ^ "McCrory Appeal Successful". daggers.co.uk. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  31. ^ "Dag & Red 2 - 5 Aldershot". BBC Sport. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  32. ^ "Eight cut loose by Daggers". Sky Sports. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  33. ^ a b Wilkinson, Ashley (28 June 2016). "How Damien McCrory has progressed with Burton Albion". Burton Mail. Retrieved 13 May 2017.[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ "Brewers Sign Damien McCrory on two year deal". Official Club Website. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.[permanent dead link]
  35. ^ "Damien McCrory joins Burton from Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  36. ^ "League 2 Team of the Week". football-league.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  37. ^ "Burton Albion 1 - 3 Bradford". BBC Sport. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  38. ^ Sloan, Tom (16 April 2014). "Burton Albion's Damien McCrory ruled out for rest of season". Derby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  39. ^ "Defender Damien McCrory signs new deal". BBC Sport. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  40. ^ Butcher, Alex (14 December 2015). "Sky Bet Football League Team of the Week". www.efl.com. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  41. ^ a b Wilkinson, Ashley. "Burton Albion left-back Damien McCrory: accomplishment sunk in on holiday". Burton Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2016.[permanent dead link]
  42. ^ Wilkinson, Ashley (16 May 2016). "Burton Albion retained list: new deals for Lucas Akins, Damien McCrory and Matt Palmer". Burton Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2016.[permanent dead link]
  43. ^ Wilkinson, Ashley (15 June 2016). "Talks stall as Brewers bid to keep duo for Championship campaign". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2017.[permanent dead link]
  44. ^ Wilkinson, Ashley (29 November 2016). "Burton Albion: McCrory struggled with adapting to wing-back role". Burton Mail. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  45. ^ a b Murray, Josh (31 August 2017). "Damien McCrory heads to Portsmouth on loan". Burton Mail. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  46. ^ "Portsmouth: Oliver Hawkins, Stuart O'Keefe, Damien McCrory, Matty Kennedy join". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  47. ^ "Injured Pompey defender returns to parent club". Portsmouth News. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  48. ^ Rooney, Will (8 September 2017). "McCrory out to become Pompey regular". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  49. ^ Rooney, Will (30 October 2017). "Pompey defender suffers minor injury setback". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  50. ^ Cusack, Richard (3 January 2018). "McCrory returns to Brewers after Portsmouth loan expires". Burton Mail. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  51. ^ "Burton Albion: Lloyd Dyer one of six players offered new contracts". BBC Sport. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  52. ^ Murray, Josh (3 May 2019). "Clough on why Burton aren't re-signing McFadzean for 2019-20". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  53. ^ "Notts County sign Nathan Tyson, Damien McCrory, Dion Kelly-Evans, Zoumana Bakayogo & Sam Slocombe". BBC. 1 August 2019.
  54. ^ "National League clubs vote to end regular season immediately". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  55. ^ "National League promotion final: Harrogate Town beat Notts County 3-1 to secure place in League Two". BBC Sport. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  56. ^ a b c Damien McCrory at Soccerway
  57. ^ Curtis, Leigh (15 May 2021). "Burchnall names Notts team to face Bromley as key man missing". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  58. ^ Curtis, Leigh (24 July 2021). "'A class act' - Notts County player reports as Magpies beat AFC Telford". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  59. ^ "Damien McCrory profile". Nuneaton Borough. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  60. ^ a b c "Damien Mccrory Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  61. ^ @granthamtownfc (6 July 2022). "𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙈𝙘𝘾𝙍𝙊𝙍𝙔 We didn't need to ask the Gaffer questions about this new signing! Almost the most appearance holder for Burton Albion in the Football League and a League 2 Play Off Winner with Dagenham and Redbridge Welcome to #thegingerbreads @DamienMccrory" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 July 2022 – via Twitter.
  62. ^ a b "Lincolnshire Senior Cup final – Spalding United 0 - 1 Grantham Town". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  63. ^ "Switzerland end Irish hopes of qualification to U19 UEFA Championship". fai.ie. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  64. ^ "Irish U19s produce heroic display to defeat Sweden". fai.ie. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  65. ^ "Greens on Screen". www.greensonscreen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  66. ^ a b "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  67. ^ a b c d "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  68. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  69. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  70. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  71. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  72. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  73. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  74. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  75. ^ a b "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  76. ^ "Games played by Damien McCrory in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  77. ^ "Grantham Town | Appearances | Damien McCrory | 2022-2023 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
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