We can confirm that Gavin Reilly will be leaving Queen of the South at the end of the season and is expected to link up with former manager Jim McIntyre at Arbroath for next season.
At this stage of his career, and with a young family, Gavin has taken the opportunity to begin an apprenticeship outside football and go part time. Although disappointed to be losing his services, we fully appreciate his position and would like to thank both Arbroath FC and Gavin himself for their professionalism in dealing with this. Although unable to train last week and not being passed fit to play, Gavin never the less did take the field for a few minutes on Saturday to clock up his 200th appearance for Queens and we will recognise this achievement with a presentation next season when he is next at Palmerston. We wish him all the best in his future career.
Gavin has given us the following message for publication, "I would like to thank everyone involved with Queen of the South during my two spells with the club. I've met some great people and played with some top players during those seven years and have many fond memories to tkae away with me. Unfortunately the second spell has a tinge of disappointment as we ultimately failed as a team twice to get promoted which was the aim when I returned but that's football sometimes. With a new era on the horizon for the club hopefully Queens can move forward now and push for promotion back to the Championship where they belong."
Gavin Reilly first appeared for the first team in the 2010/11 season, scoring on his debut in a 5-1 win over Dumbarton at Palmerston in July 2010, aged just 17. However, he had to wait almost two years for his first Queens start, which came the other side of a loan spell with Gretna. That came in a 2-1 home win over Morton in January 2012. Reilly would score his first league goal soon after, the only goal in a home win over Raith in March 2012. After relegation to Division Two of the old SFL in 2012, Reilly became a first team regular making 40 appearances in the 2012/13 season . His 15 goals in all competitions contributed towards a League and Challenge Cup double for the Doonhamers. Reilly would put up similar numbers in the following season back in the Championship, scoring 12 league goals as Queens made the Premiership play offs. The 2014/15 season was, for many, Reilly’s best season at Palmerston. 15 goals in all competitions as Queens reached the play offs again and the Scottish Cup quarter finals.
Gavin earned his big move to Premiership side Hearts in the summer of 2015 but he would score just 4 goals in his only season at Tynecastle. He linked up with Allan Johnston and Nicky Clark on loan at newly promoted Dunfermline in the 2016/17 season but would only find the back of the net twice in 28 appearances for the Pars. Reilly though would be back to his very best the next season at St Mirren, scoring 22 in all competitions which remains his best scoring season to date, as The Buddies ended their 3 year absence from the top flight and won the Championship title at a canter. This earned him a move down south to League 1 side Bristol Rovers where he scored 4 league goals as ‘The Pirates’ finished 15th. Another 4 goal season followed, this time with League 2 side Cheltenham, who were sitting just 5 points from the top of the table when the season was cancelled due to the pandemic. A move closer to home in Carlisle United followed, where Reilly would score just once in an EFL Trophy victory over Aston Villa U23’s before a loan spell with Premiership side Livingston in the second half of the campaign, where he failed to find the back of the net in 7 appearances. Livingston sent him on loan to Morton in the 21/22 season where he scored just once until the arrival of new manager Dougie Imrie in January. He scored 5 and assisted 3 as The Ton ended the season in 7th after sitting rock bottom at Christmas.
After seven seasons away, Gavin returned to Palmerston in the summer of 2022, scoring 5 more goals before a loan switch to League 2 Stenhousemuir in the second half of the season where he scored twice. Reilly was back on form in this season however, his 14 goals in all competitions a positive in what was a disappointing season for the Doonhamers. After his cameo appearance on Saturday he stands at 200 Appearances (135 starts and 65 subs), 64 Goals and 22 Assists, a true Queens legend, sitting just outside the top twenty of all time scorers for Queens.