Trevor Vaughan (born: 15 November 1973) is a well travelled forward who was the thorn in many a Dundalk side during his time with Drogheda United and Monaghan United. He began his League of Ireland career when, at the age of 20, he lined out twice for Home Farm in the First Division in 1993. The following season, Trevor made 15 appearances and scored three goals for the Whitehall club before moving on to neighbours, Shelbourne in 1994. That wasn’t a spell that was kind to the striker, however, and he managed to make just seven appearances in the top flight for the Reds over 18 months, scoring one goal along the way. As a result, midway through the 95/96 season, Vaughan moved to Drogheda United and scored three goals in 15 outings in the remainder of the campaign. That was a stint that soon ended, and ‘Trev’ returned to Home Farm (who at this stage had become Home Farm Everton), who were now in the Premier Division. 29 appearances and four goals couldn’t prevent the Dublin outfit from making a swift return to the lower tier, and in the middle of 97/98, and after nine first team outings, Trevor moved to Premier Division, Kilkenny City, where he would spend the next three years.
 
In his first half season with the Cats, Trevor found just one goal from 12 appearances as Kilkenny lost their top flight status. Vaughan was soon back on form, though, and put his scoring boots on in his first full campaign at Buckley Park. From 33 outings, Vaughan netted 13 goals, and he continued in much the same form the following season when he scored eight times in 25 outings, a record which helped Kilkenny to promotion via the playoffs. Vaughan’s services were not retained, however, and he made a return to Drogheda United in August 2000. There, he scored four times in fourteen appearances as the Drogs finished a lowly ninth in the First Division. Trevor was then signed by Monaghan United for their Premier League expedition in 01/02, but, despite scoring five goals, it was yet more heartbreak for the hitman as he suffered another relegation. Nonetheless, he remained at Monaghan for another two seasons in the second tier, netting a total of 22 goals in 61 appearances.
 
That scoring record alerted Trevor Anderson and in early 2004, Vaughan signed on at Oriel Park for the first time. Soon faced with a change of manager (Jim Gannon), the striker was unperturbed and hit 14 goals in 32 outings, including a hat-trick in the Lilywhites’ 4-1 win away to Athlone on 29 October 2004. Vaughan’s scoring record was the highlight of an otherwise forgettable season. Somewhat surprisingly, Vaughan departed at the end of the campaign to join Dermot Keely at Dublin City, and it proved to be a shrewd move as he captained the Vikings to promotion, playing a key role with eight goals in 31 appearances and a fine display in the playoff win over Shamrock Rovers. Vaughan was then offered a Premier Division contract but decided to decline it as he felt he would get more first team action in the First Division with John Gill’s Dundalk. However, Vaughan struggled with injury and only made three starts (20 sub appearances) before the dismissal of Peter Hynes late in the season. That handed Vaughan the opportunity to start for a fourth time in the last league game at Finn Park, and he went on to play a starring role in the ‘Promotion/Relegation Playoff’ when he netted all three goals in the 3-2 aggregate win over Waterford United.
 
That didn’t result in promotion due to the IAG decision and so, Trevor remained at Oriel Park for 2007. Due to his exploits at the end of the previous season, Trevor started seven of Dundalk’s opening ten league games before his run in the team was ended after picking up a serious ankle injury in the opening minute of his side’s 0-0 draw in Finn Park on 11 May. After returning from that with a substitute appearance at home to Kildare on 5 July, Trevor made ten consecutive appearances from the bench before his late saving double against Wexford Youths on 30 August forced Gill to start the striker in Kildare a week later. In total, he scored eight goals in the final eleven league games of 2007, however, he missed the playoff defeat to Finn Harps through suspension. His performances earned him the club’s ‘Player of the Year’ award for the second time, after he had first captured the accolade in his first spell at the club in 2004. 2008 sees Trevor attempt to make it 100 league career goals, as he could well be playing his final season in League of Ireland football.
 
Profile last updated: February 2008