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Matt Jones (footballer, born 1986)

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Matt Jones
Personal information
Full name Matthew Robert Jones
Date of birth (1986-05-11) 11 May 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Philadelphia Union
Number 24
Youth career
1995–1999 Port Vale
2003–2005 West Bromwich Albion
2005–2008 Sacred Heart Pioneers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 Western Mass Pioneers 4 (0)
2009–2011 Santa Clara 29 (0)
2011–2012 União Madeira 21 (0)
2012– Belenenses 85 (0)
2015–2016 → Tondela (loan) 10 (0)
2016– → Philadelphia Union (loan) 1 (0)
2016– → Bethlehem Steel (loan) 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 September 2016

Matthew Robert "Matt" Jones (born 11 May 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for American club Philadelphia Union on loan from C.F. Os Belenenses.

He started playing as a senior with the Western Mass Pioneers in the United States, leaving for Portugal in 2009 and representing several clubs there.

Football career

College and amateur

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Jones was a member of Port Vale's academy from the age of nine.[1] He then played for West Bromwich Albion, making several reserve team appearances from age 17–19.

Jones moved to the United States in 2005, to attend and play college soccer at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He helped the team finish fourth in regular season of the Northeast Conference,[2] losing in the playoffs to eventual champions Monmouth University, 1–2.[3]

Jones was selected to the All-Northeast Conference second team, the NSCAA All-New England second team and was voted Male Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2005, being picked 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" honour on top of being a nominated in the final 30 of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in 2009; additionally, he was named NEC Scholar Athlete of the year in 2009, and graduated 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 25 April of that year in the side's 1–3 opening day away defeat against the Harrisburg City Islanders.[4]

Jones was signed by Portuguese team C.D. Santa Clara, before the start of the 2009–10 season.[5] He immediately made himself first-choice at the second division club, going on to appear in 21 matches out of 30 in that first campaign.[6]

In June 2011, Jones went on trial with Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen.[7] However, nothing came of it, and he continued playing in Portugal's second level, successively representing Madeira's C.F. União[8] and C.F. Os Belenenses.[9]

Jones only missed one league game in 42 for the latter in the 2012–13 campaign, helping it return to the Primeira Liga after three years.[10] He made his debut in the competition on 18 August 2013, in a 0–3 home loss to Rio Ave FC.

On 30 June 2015, Jones was loaned to top flight newcomers C.D. Tondela for the upcoming campaign,[11] making his competitive debut on 14 August in a 1–2 home defeat to Sporting Clube de Portugal.[12]

On 9 February 2016, Jones was confirmed as the latest Philadelphia Union signing, arriving on a season-long loan.[13]

References

  1. ^ Vale reject Jones earns contract in Portugal; This Is Staffordshire, 18 August 2009
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Soccer Box Score; NEC, 11 November 2005
  4. ^ Official Match Information; USL Soccer, 25 April 2009
  5. ^ "Matthew Robert Jones é outro dos ajustes ao plantel para esta temporada" (in Portuguese). CD Santa Clara. 25 July 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Portuguese football's lone Englishman rewarded for daring to be different". PortuGOAL. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  7. ^ "More new faces on show this morning". Aberdeen F.C. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Guarda-redes Matt Jones e avançado Tozé Marreco assegurados no União" (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Watch out Joe Hart: Meet the top-flight English keeper you've never heard of". FourFourTwo. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Bem-vindo de volta Belenenses" (in Portuguese). Palavras ao Poste. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Belenenses empresta Matt Jones ao Tondela" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Geraldo, Inês (14 August 2015). "Tondela 1–2 Sporting" (in Portuguese). RTP. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Philadelphia Union acquire goalkeeper Matt Jones on loan from Portuguese first division club Belenenses". Major League Soccer. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
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