Simon Church

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Simon Church
Simon Church.jpg
Personal information
Full name Simon Richard Church
Date of birth 10 December 1988 (1988-12-10) (age 23)
Place of birth High Wycombe, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Reading
Number 18
Youth career
1998–2003 Wycombe Wanderers
2003–2007 Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007– Reading 91 (21)
2007–2008 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 12 (1)
2008 → Yeovil Town (loan) 6 (0)
2008 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 9 (0)
2009 → Leyton Orient (loan) 13 (4)
National team‡
2007– Wales U21 15 (8)
2009– Wales 14 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:12, 17 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:01, 12 Oct 2011 (UTC)

Simon Richard Church is a Wales international footballer who plays for Football League Championship club Reading as a striker.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Club

Church was spotted as a youngster while playing at a youth tournament and joined hometown club Wycombe Wanderers Centre of Excellence as a nine-year-old upon recommendation from the club scout.[1] Five years later, he joined Reading's Youth Academy at the age of 14, as part of the Nathan Tyson sale to Wycombe.[2] He was a regular in Reading's reserve side whilst still in the academy.[3] On 6 July 2007, he signed a one year professional contract with Reading,[3] but did not make a first team appearance that season due to stiff competition from the likes of Dave Kitson and Irish internationals Kevin Doyle and Shane Long.

Church joined Crewe Alexandra on loan for one month on 19 October 2007,[4] which was subsequently extended to 19 January 2008 following rave reviews.[5] He was put into the starting XI for Crewe on 20 October 2007 against Luton Town, where he wore the number 31 shirt and assisted Ryan Lowe for Crewe Alexandra's second goal.[6] He scored his first goal for Crewe in a 2–2 draw with Cheltenham on 27 October 2007.[7]

Church joined Yeovil Town on loan for the remainder of the 2007–08 season on 29 January 2008.[8] He followed this with a loan move to his hometown club Wycombe Wanderers at the start of the 2008–09 season.[9] His original month at the club was cut short due to a sending off and subsequent three match ban, but he later rejoined the club for a further two months on 20 October 2008.

On 17 February 2009 Church joined Leyton Orient, initially on a month's loan, but later extended to the end of the season.[10]

Church made his full first team debut for Reading in the play-off semi-final second leg defeat to Burnley on 12 May 2009. With the departures of Doyle and Kitson, he became more of a regular in the first team and soon claimed a starting place at the expense of Long. On 19 September, he scored his first league goal in only his fourth start in a 3–2 defeat to Peterborough and dedicated it to his father who died earlier that month.[11] On 2 January 2010 he scored against Premiership side Liverpool in the FA Cup third round as the Royals took a shock lead and held the Merseyside club to a 1–1 draw at the Madejski Stadium.[12] The Royals went on to win 2–1 in the replay. Four days later, he was offered a new deal and extended his contract until 2013.[13] In February, he scored a brace against Crystal Palace in a 3–1 win, which lifted Reading out of the relegation zone. Midway through the 2011/12 season Church hit form with 4 goals in 4 matches, opening the scoring against Peterborough, getting a brace against promotion contenders West Ham and earning a 0-1 win away at Leeds United with a well taken lob over Andrew Lonergan [14].

[edit] International career

Despite being born in England, Church qualifies to play for Wales as his grandparents are from Newport.[15] He made his début for the Wales U21 team[16] as a substitute in their 4–3 win over Sweden U21 on 21 August 2007.[17] Church scored a brace for Wales under 21s against England under 21s as they lost 3–2 on 10 October 2008, in the 2009 European Championship play-offs. He also scored Wales's second goal in the first half of the second leg of the playoff against England, neatly lifting the ball over the on rushing Joe Hart but they lost 5–4 on aggregate to England, thus missing out on a spot in the final tournament. In March 2009, he was named captain of the U-21s.[18]

On 29 May 2009 Church made his debut for the senior Wales international team in the friendly against Estonia. He received call-ups for the match against Italy U21 and a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Russia on 9 September but did not participate due to the death of his father.[19][20] He scored his first senior goal on 14 November in friendly against Scotland that ended 3–0.[21]

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list. Wales's goal tally first.
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 14 November 2009 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Scotland 2–0 3–0 Friendly

[edit] Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Total
2007–08 Reading Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Crewe Alexandra (Loan) Football League One 12 1 2 0 0 0 14 1
Yeovil Town (Loan) 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2008–09 Reading Championship 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
2008–09 Wycombe Wanderers (Loan) League Two 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2008–09 Yeovil Town (Loan) League One 13 5 0 0 0 0 13 5
2009–10 Reading Championship 36 10 6 2 0 0 42 12
2010–11 39 4 4 0 1 0 44 4
2011–12 23 6 1 0 1 0 23 6
Total Country 139 26 14 2 2 0 155 28
Career total 139 26 14 2 2 0 155 28

[edit] References

  1. ^ "On-loan Blues striker remembers his roots". Bucks Free Press. 4 September 2008. http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/sport/localsport/3647330.On_loan_Blues_striker_remembers_his_roots/. 
  2. ^ "Church lights the way for new-look Reading". BBC Sport. 2 January 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2010/01/church_lights_the_way_for_newl.html. 
  3. ^ a b "Royals make six Academy signings". readingfc.co.uk. 2007-07-06. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1068670,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  4. ^ "Crewe sign Reading striker Church". BBC Sport. 2007-10-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/crewe_alexandra/7053263.stm. Retrieved 2007-10-21. 
  5. ^ "Striker's loan is extended". readingfc.co.uk. 2007-11-09. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1164177,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-09. 
  6. ^ "Crewe 2–0 Luton". BBC Sport. 2007-10-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7043080.stm. Retrieved 2007-10-21. 
  7. ^ "Cheltenham 2–2 Crewe". BBC. 27 October 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7054054.stm. Retrieved 2 January 2010. 
  8. ^ "Striker makes loan move". readingfc.co.uk. 2008-01-29. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1227743,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
  9. ^ "Church makes Wycombe loan move". readingfc.co.uk. 2008-08-24. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1374095,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
  10. ^ "O's take Church on loan". leytonorient.com. 2009-02-17. http://www.leytonorient.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10439~1559667,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
  11. ^ "Simon Church dedicates first Reading FC goal to dad". Reading Evening Post. 23 September 2009. http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/readingfc/s/2057687_simon_church_dedicates_first_reading_fc_league_goal_to_dad. 
  12. ^ "Reading 1 – 1 Liverpool". BBC. 2 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/8434010.stm. Retrieved 2 January 2010. 
  13. ^ "Simon Church pens new three-year Reading deal". bbc.co.uk. 6 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/reading/8441528.stm. 
  14. ^ BBC News. 29 July 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/reading/results/default.stm. 
  15. ^ "Gwent pair are crucial". Western Telegraph. 10 October 2008. http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/archive/2008/10/10/National+Football+%28swa_sport_football_national%29/3745962.Gwent_pair_are_crucial___Flynn/. 
  16. ^ "Church gets Wales U21 run-out in Sweden". readingfc.co.uk. 2007-08-22. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1097407,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  17. ^ "Sweden U21 3–4 Wales U21". BBC Sport. 2007-08-21. 
  18. ^ "Church calls for more maturity". Western Telegraph. 30 March 2009. http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/archive/2009/03/30/National+Football+%28swa_sport_football_national%29/4246167.Church_calls_for_more_maturity/. 
  19. ^ News – Wales v Russia – Squad Additions
  20. ^ Wales Under-21s boss Brian Flynn has warning for Italians
  21. ^ "Simon Church delighted to have scored first senior Welsh international goal". South Wales Echo. 16 November 2009. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/football-in-wales/2009/11/16/simon-church-delighted-to-have-scored-first-senior-welsh-international-goal-91466-25174383/. Retrieved 19 November 2009. 

[edit] External links

Reading F.C. – current squad
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