A native of Derry, Doherty played in the academy of Institute, before making his debut in a 3–2 loss at home to Cliftonville on 16 August 2014.[1] He went on to make a total of 13 appearances for the side in all competitions before departing the club in January 2015.[2]
Derry City
Doherty joined League of Ireland club Derry City's under 19 side in 2015, remaining there for 2 seasons before being called up to the first team by manager Kenny Shiels.[3] He made his debut on 27 August 2016 in a 2–2 draw away to Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.[4] Doherty scored the first goal of his senior career on 30 August 2017 in a 3–0 win over Limerick at Maginn Park.[5] He made the first European appearances of his career in July 2017 when Derry faced Danish side Midtjylland.[6]
Glenavon loan
On 17 August 2018, Doherty was loaned out to NIFL Premiership club Glenavon until January 2019.[7][8] He scored 1 goal in 20 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell.[2]
Coleraine
On 28 December 2018, Doherty joined NIFL Premiership club Coleraine on a permanent basis, with midfielder Ciaron Harkin going in the opposite direction and joining Derry City as part of the deal.[9] In later years, he described leaving Derry for Coleraine as the hardest decision of his career.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 18 January 2019, opening the scoring in a 2–1 win away to Ards.[11] Doherty scored 5 goals in 3 appearances in the club's run to winning the 2019–20 Northern Ireland Football League Cup, but missed out on the final as his side defeated Crusaders 2–1 at Windsor Park.[12] He finished the 2019–20 season with 14 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions, his best goalscoring return to date.[2] On 17 September 2020, Doherty scored the first European goals of his career, scoring twice in a 2–2 draw with Motherwell in a 2–2 draw before his side were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League on penalties by the Scottish Premiership club.[13] On 8 July 2021, Doherty made his final appearance for the club, scoring his side's goal in a 2–1 loss away to Velež Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the UEFA Europa Conference League.[14]
Doherty received his first call up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad in August 2017 ahead of their game with Albania U21 in which he made his debut in a 1–0 win.[24] He made a total of 4 appearances for the side.[2]