Ivan Sproule
Ivan Sproule (born February 18, 1981 in Castlederg, County Tyrone) is a professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian Football Club in the Scottish Premier League.
Sproule, a winger, came late to professional football. His career had been spent at Omagh Town and Institute FC - semi-professional clubs in the Irish Football League. He combined playing football with his full time career as an engineer. Hibs invited him for a trial in January 2005, in which he impressed manager Tony Mowbray and signed until the end of the season, giving up his day job.
The gamble paid off for both Sproule and Hibs. He scored one of the goals in a 3-1 win over Celtic which destroyed that team's title hopes, a particularly sweet moment for him given his boyhood allegiance to Rangers. As a result of such form, he was offered a revised 2 year deal which he showed little hesitation in accepting.
In August 2005 Sproule hit the headlines by scoring a hat-trick in a defeat of Rangers [1] and the following week was called into the Northern Ireland squad for the first time and came on as a substitute in their famous 1-0 win over England at Windsor Park [2].