David James Connolly (born 6 June 1977) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs including Feyenoord and Excelsior in the Netherlands as well as Wigan Athletic and Sunderland in the Premier League. Born in England, Connolly represented the Republic of Ireland national team at international level. He was a member of Ireland's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad that lost to Spain in the knockout stage where his penalty kick was saved by Iker Casillas during the shootout. Club career Connolly started his career with Watford where he scored 15 goals in 34 games. His goal scoring record, at club and international level, which included a hat-trick in World Cup qualifying, earned him a move to Dutch team Feyenoord Rotterdam. He had loan spells at Excelsior Rotterdam and Wolverhampton Wanderers (where he scored four goals in one game against Bristol City) before joining Wimbledon in 2001 on a free transfer where he scored 42 goals in two seasons. Manager Glenn Roeder signed Connolly for West Ham United for £285,000 in August 2003. Connolly scored on his West Ham debut in a 2–1 away win at Preston North End on 9 August 2003. He scored 14 goals in 48 games in all competitions for West Ham; his final game coming in the 2004 play-off final defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2004. Connolly signed for Leicester City in 2004 for £500,000, finishing as the club's top scorer in his first season. He managed a hat-trick against Stoke City in August 2005, prior to signing for Wigan. On 31 August 2005, he joined newly promoted Premiership club Wigan Athletic for £2 million (with the possibility of rising to £3 million if Wigan stayed in the Premiership, which they did). He scored on his debut for Wigan in a 2–1 win at West Bromwich Albion, but was hit by injuries for much of the rest of the 2005–06 season. and Leeds in the FA Cup. In 2006, also on 31 August, Connolly linked up with his former Republic of Ireland teammate Roy Keane at Sunderland. His first goal came against Colchester United on 18 November, when he came on as a sub and smashed the ball in off the post from about 18 yards out. Connolly ended up Sunderland's top scorer and was an integral part of their promotion in the 2006–07 season, scoring 13 goals