On 16 October 2015, Long signed for League Two club Luton Town on an initial one-month loan.[5] He made his debut for the club a day later in a 2–1 defeat away to Crawley Town.[6] Long made four further appearances including three in League Two and one in the FA Cup before his loan was extended on 16 November 2015 until 2 January 2016, continuing to cover for Stephen O'Donnell who was recovering from a double hernia injury.[7] He returned to Reading on 5 January 2016 after making 11 appearances for the club in all competitions.[8]
On 15 March 2016, Long signed for National League club Braintree Town on loan until the end of the season.[9] He made his debut for the club later that day in a 0–0 draw with Gateshead.[10] Long made nine league appearances for Braintree,[11] helping them to secure a place in the National League play-offs after a 3–0 win at home to Altrincham on 30 April 2016 and would face Grimsby Town in the semi-finals over two legs.[12] He featured in the semi-final first leg as Braintree earned a 1–0 away win to gain a slender advantage over their opponents.[13] Long featured again in the semi-final second leg, as Braintree were defeated 2–0 after extra time and 2–1 on aggregate, ending their hopes of promotion.[14]
On 9 May 2016, Long was one of 15 Reading youth-team players offered a new contract by the club,[15] with confirmation of his new deal being signed coming on 1 July 2016.[16]
On 28 July 2016, following a pre-season trial, Long signed a six-month loan deal with League Two club Cambridge United.[17] He made his debut on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 1–1 draw at home to Barnet.[18] Long made 12 appearances and returned to Reading following the expiration of his loan spell.[18][19]
Lincoln City
On 5 January 2017, Long signed a loan deal with National League club Lincoln City for the remainder of 2016–17 with a view to a permanent transfer.[20] He made his debut two days later in Lincoln's 2–2 draw away to Ipswich Town in the FA Cup third round, having entered the match as a stoppage time substitute and completed the loan spell with 19 appearances.[11]
Reading announced that Long would be released when his contract expired at the end of the season.[21] He was named in Lincoln's retained list for 2017–18.[22] Long came on as a 95th-minute substitute as Lincoln beat Shrewsbury Town 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in the 2018 EFL Trophy Final on 8 April 2018.[23]
Cheltenham Town
Long signed for League Two club Cheltenham Town on 26 June 2018 on a two-year contract after rejecting a new contract with Lincoln.[24] He signed a one-year extension to his contract in September 2019.[25] Cheltenham reached the League Two play-offs in 2019–20 with a fourth-place finish on points per game after the season was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom,[26] and were beaten 3–2 on aggregate by Northampton Town in the semi-final.[27] He made 22 appearances and scored two goals in 2020–21 as Cheltenham won the League Two title and promotion to League One.[28][29]
On 22 May 2024, the club announced the player had rejected a new contract and would be leaving.[30]
Long has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level.[32] He made 12 appearances for the under-19 team between 2013 and 2014.[33]
Long was called up to the under-21s for the first time in May 2015,[34] along with Reading teammates Pierce Sweeney and Shane Griffin.
Career statistics
As of match played 16 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
