Matt Jones (footballer, born 1986)

Matthew Robert Jones (born 11 May 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the assistant coach of the Quinnipiac Bobcats.

For other people with the same name, see Matthew Jones.

Matt Jones
Personal information
Full name Matthew Robert Jones
Date of birth (1986-05-11) 11 May 1986
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
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)
2012–2017 Belenenses 85 (0)
2015–2016 → Tondela (loan) 10 (0)
2016 → Philadelphia Union (loan) 1 (0)
2016 → Bethlehem Steel (loan) 5 (0)
2017 Elm City Express 17 (0)
Total 143 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He spent his entire senior career in the United States and Portugal, where he made 145 appearances for Santa Clara, União da Madeira, Belenenses and Tondela in the latter's professional leagues. He also played a single Major League Soccer game for the Philadelphia Union.

Playing 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.[11]

On 30 June 2015, Jones was loaned to top flight newcomers C.D. Tondela for the upcoming campaign.[12] He made his competitive debut on 14 August, in a 1–2 home defeat to Sporting Clube de Portugal.[13]

On 9 February 2016, Jones was confirmed as the latest Philadelphia Union signing, arriving on a season-long loan.[14] He made his only Major League Soccer appearance on 1 June in a 3–2 home win over the Columbus Crew as Andre Blake was away with Jamaica at the Copa América Centenario; he had become a father days earlier.[15][16] In April of the following year, he joined National Premier Soccer League club Elm City Express.[17] He made his debut on 6 May, in a 2–0 win over Greater Lowell United FC.[18]

Coaching career

On 12 January 2018, Jones was announced as assistant coach of the Quinnipiac Bobcats football team.[19]

References
  1. Vale reject Jones earns contract in Portugal; This Is Staffordshire, 18 August 2009
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.sacredheart.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Soccer Box Score; NEC, 11 November 2005
  4. Official Match Information Archived 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine; USL Soccer, 25 April 2009
  5. "Matthew Robert Jones é outro dos ajustes ao plantel para esta temporada" [Matthew Robert Jones is another roster adjustment for this season] (in Portuguese). CD Santa Clara. 25 July 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  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. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  8. "Guarda-redes Matt Jones e avançado Tozé Marreco assegurados no União" [Goalkeeper Matt Jones and forward Tozé Marreco confirmed at União] (in Portuguese). DNotícias. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  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" [Welcome back Belenenses] (in Portuguese). Palavras ao Poste. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  11. "Rio Ave inicia campeonato com triunfo no Restelo" [Rio Ave start championship with win at the Restelo] (in Portuguese). TSF. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  12. "Belenenses empresta Matt Jones ao Tondela" [Belenenses loan Matt Jones to Tondela] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  13. Geraldo, Inês (14 August 2015). "Tondela 1–2 Sporting" (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. "Philadelphia Union acquire goalkeeper Matt Jones on loan from Portuguese first division club Belenenses". Major League Soccer. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  15. Zeitlin, Dave (31 May 2016). "Best week ever for Matt Jones: New dad, new Philadelphia Union starter". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  16. Rossi, John (1 June 2016). "Undefeated in Eight: Union 3-2 Crew". SB Nation. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  17. "Delighted to welcome Matt Jones to the 2017 @elmcityexpress roster! He played in Portugal for 7 years and was at the Philly Union last year". Twitter. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  18. "Game Report – Game ID #4035413". National Premier Soccer League. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  19. "Matt Jones Named Men's Soccer Assistant Coach". Quinnipiac Bobcats. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
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