- Matthew Robert Jones
-
Matt Jones 
Personal information Full name Matthew Jones Date of birth 11 May 1986 Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Playing position Goalkeeper Club information Current club Santa Clara Number 12 Youth career 1995–1999 Port Vale 2003–2005 West Bromwich Albion 2005–2009 Sacred Heart Pioneers Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2009 Western Mass Pioneers 4 (0) 2009 Santa Clara 26 (0) 2010 Santa Clara 12 (0) 2011 C.F. União 7 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Matthew Robert "Matt" Jones (born 11 May 1986) is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Santa Clara.
Contents
Career
College and Amateur
Jones was a member of English club Port Vale's academy from the age of nine.[1] He then played for West Bromwich Albion FC making several reserve team appearances from age 17-19. He then moved from his native England to the United States in 2005 to attend and play college soccer at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He helped the team finished 4th in regular season of Northeast Conference[2] and entered the playoffs that lost to Monmouth University in 1-2.[3] Which Monmouth later became the playoffs and regular season champion in 2005.
He was selected to All-Northeast Conference second team, the NSCAA All-New England second team and Male Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2005, and to the All-Northeast Conference first team and the All-Mideast Region second team in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 he was awarded the "All Pioneer" honor on top of being a nominated in the final 30 of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in 2009. Jones was also named NEC Scholar Athlete of the year in 2009. Jones graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2009, Magna Cum-Laude with a GPA of 3.7 and a degree in Business Administration.
Professional
Jones turned professional in 2009 with the Western Mass Pioneers. He made his professional debut on April 25, 2009 in Western Mass's 3-1 opening day defeat to the Harrisburg City Islanders,[4] and went on to make 4 appearances for the team in his rookie season.
He was signed by Portuguese team Santa Clara of Liga de Honra before the 2009–10 season.[5]
He immediately made himself the first-choice goalkeeper at Santa Clara and played a major role as the club attempted to win promotion to Portugal's top flight - Portuguese Liga.[6]
In June 2011 he went on trial with Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen.[7]
Jones decided that a return to Portugal was to be the next step in his career and signed with Liga de Honra side C.F. União of Madeira in June 2011. [8]. União da Madeira have made a promising start to the 2011 season by qualifying for the second stages of the Taça de Portugal.
External links
References
- ^ Vale reject Jones earns contract in Portugal
- ^ http://www.sacredheart.edu/download/1008_shu_alum_mag_winter06_on_the_field_pages_18_20.pdf
- ^ Boxscore
- ^ http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2009/1052040.html
- ^ "Matthew Robert Jones é outro dos ajustes ao plantel para esta temporada" (in Portuguese). C.D. Santa Clara site. 25 July 2009. http://www.cdsantaclara.pt/?tipo=com&n=noticias&menu=noticias&ler_noticia=1626. Retrieved 2009-11-03.[dead link]
- ^ "Portuguese football’s lone Englishman rewarded for daring to be different". [PortuGOAL.net] site. 3 November 2009. http://www.portugoal.net/index.php/more-liga-sagres-news/5147-exclusive-an-englishman-in-portugal. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ "More new faces on show this morning". Aberdeen F.C.. 27 June 2011. http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20110627/more-new-faces-on-show-this-morning-_2212158_2382402. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ [[cite news|url=http://www.dnoticias.pt/actualidade/desporto/271547-guarda-redes-matt-jones-e-avancado-toze-marreco-assegurados-no-uniao |publisher= [dnoticias.pt] site | date = 30 June 2011 | accessdate = 20011-6-30}}
Categories:- 1986 births
- Living people
- English footballers
- English expatriate footballers
- Sacred Heart University alumni
- Western Mass Pioneers players
- USL Second Division players
- C.D. Santa Clara players
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Expatriate footballers in Portugal
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