Ross Laidlaw (born 12 July 1992) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Ross County. He has previously played for Raith Rovers, Elgin City, Hibernian and Dundee United.

Ross Laidlaw
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-07-12) 12 July 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Livingston, Scotland
Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Ross County
Number 1
Youth career
Raith Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2016 Raith Rovers 32 (0)
2014–2015Elgin City (loan) 14 (0)
2016–2019 Hibernian 19 (0)
2019Dundee United (loan) 1 (0)
2019– Ross County 146 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024

Career

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Raith Rovers

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Laidlaw began his playing career for the Raith Rovers under-19 side. He progressed to the senior side and appeared on bench on two occasions during the 2010–11 season.[2] He featured in pre-season friendly matches in advance of the 2011–12 season, the final of which was against Southend United in a scoreless draw.[3] Following the departure of Andrew McNeil he became the regular back-up goalkeeper to David McGurn.[4][5]

However he suffered a setback, injuring his knee, with Raith having to sign Ludovic Roy as a temporary replacement.[5] After recovering from injury, Laidlaw made his senior debut on 3 March 2012, keeping a clean sheet in a 5–0 home victory against Greenock Morton.[6]

On 22 January 2015, he joined Elgin City on loan.[7] His last game for Elgin was in April 2015, a 5–4 defeat against Annan Athletic.[8] Laidlaw returned to Raith after this loan spell, but failed to displace Kevin Cuthbert as first-choice goalkeeper.[8] In December 2015 he suffered a torn kidney, which kept him out of action for the rest of the season. Laidlaw left Raith at the end of the 2015–16 season.

Hibernian

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On 6 July 2016, Laidlaw signed a one-year contract with Hibernian.[9] He made his first appearance for Hibernian in the second leg of a Europa League qualifier against Brondby.[8] Laidlaw kept a clean sheet as Hibs won 1–0 in the second leg, but were knocked out of the competition after a penalty shootout.[8] Although he mainly served as a backup to Ofir Marciano during the 2016–17 season, Laidlaw made 18 first team appearances.[10]

He signed a two-year contract with Hibs in May 2017.[10] Laidlaw temporarily took over as first choice goalkeeper in September, as Marciano missed one game due to him observing Yom Kippur.[11] He injured a shoulder in November, and this eventually required surgery.[12] Laidlaw returned to first-team training in June 2018.[13] He made his first appearance since injury on 9 August, in a Europa League qualifier against Molde.[14]

Laidlaw moved on loan to Championship club Dundee United in January 2019.[15] In May 2019, Hibs announced that Laidlaw would be released at the end of the season.[16]

Ross County

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On 30 May 2019 Laidlaw signed for newly promoted Scottish Premiership team Ross County on a two-year contract.[17] On 13 July 2019, he made his debut for Ross County against Montrose in the Scottish League Cup. After winning Ross County's player of the year award for the 2020-21 season Laidlaw signed a new two-year contract with the club.[18] On 3 January 2023 Laidlaw singled a three-and-a-half-year contract keeping him at County until the summer of 2026.[19]

Career statistics

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As of 31 August 2024[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Raith Rovers 2011–12 Scottish First Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2012–13 10 0 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 12 0
2013–14 Scottish Championship 13 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2014–15 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
2015–16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 32 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 37 0
Elgin City (loan) 2014–15 Scottish League Two 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Hibernian 2016–17[note 1] Scottish Championship 15 0 1 0 1 0 1[b] 0 18 0
2017–18 Scottish Premiership 3 0 0 0 3 0 6 0
2018–19[note 2] 1 0 0 0 1 0 1[b] 0 3 0
Total 19 0 1 0 5 0 2 0 27 0
Dundee United (loan) 2018–19 Scottish Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Ross County 2019–20 Scottish Premiership 17 0 0 0 5 0 22 0
2020–21 33 0 1 0 6 0 40 0
2021–22 20 0 1 0 2 0 23 0
2022–23 38 0 1 0 2 0 2[c] 0 43 0
2023–24 25 0 0 0 3 0 2[d] 0 30 0
2024–25 4 0 0 0 3 0 7 0
Total 137 0 3 0 21 0 4 0 165 0
Career total 203 0 8 0 26 0 7 0 244 0

Honours

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Raith Rovers

Hibernian

Notes

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  1. ^ Soccerbase did not record an appearance made by Laidlaw against Brøndby on 21 July 2016.
  2. ^ Soccerbase did not record an appearance made by Laidlaw against Molde on 9 August 2018.

References

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  1. ^ "Ross County FC - 1. Ross Laidlaw - Ross County Football Club". rosscountyfootballclub.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Ross Laidlaw". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Southend 0 Raith Rovers 0". southendunited.co.uk. Southend United FC. 3 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Keeper Andy McNeil signs on". www.livingstonfc.co.uk. Livingston F.C. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Division One: Ross Co v Raith Rovers preview". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Raith Rovers 5-0 Morton". raithrovers.net. Raith Rovers FC. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  7. ^ "A Great Opportunity for Ross". raithrovers.net. Raith Rovers FC. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d Lamont, Alasdair (24 July 2016). "Ross Laidlaw surprise at Hibs bow against Brondby in Europa League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  9. ^ "ROSS LAIDLAW JOINS HIBERNIAN". hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Five Renew Contracts For Next Season". Hibernian FC. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  11. ^ Davie, Scott (23 September 2017). "Ross County 0–1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  12. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (22 December 2017). "Hibernian: Ross Laidlaw surgery leaves Neil Lennon looking for keeper". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  13. ^ Hardie, David (29 June 2018). "Ross Laidlaw: I'm fit and ready to play for Hibs in Europe". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  14. ^ Hardie, David (9 August 2018). "Hibs 0, Molde 0: Goals dry up but tie in the balance". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Dundee United: Championship club sign Ross Laidlaw on loan from Hibernian". BBC Sport. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  16. ^ "CONFIRMED PLAYER DEPARTURES". Hibernian FC. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Ross County sign goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw on pre-contract deal". Press and Journal. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Ross County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw signs new contract to stay at club". Ross-shire Journal. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Laidlaw signs new Staggies deal". Ross County FC. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  20. ^ Southwick, Andrew (6 April 2014). "Raith Rovers 1–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  21. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (15 April 2017). "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
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