Matthew Bell (footballer)

Matthew Bell (born 3 January 1992) is a British Virgin Islands international footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Northern Premier League Division One West side Hanley Town.

Matthew Bell
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-01-03) 3 January 1992
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Hanley Town
Youth career
Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Port Vale 0 (0)
2011–2012 Mansfield Town 1 (0)
2011–2012 → Stafford Rangers (loan)
2012 → Solihull Moors (loan) 4 (0)
2012 → Leek Town (loan) 12 (0)
2012–2015 Leek Town 103 (10)
2015 Kidsgrove Athletic
2015–2019 Nantwich Town
2019–2021 Leek Town 35 (7)
2021–2023 Nantwich Town 30 (0)
2023– Hanley Town
International career
2015 British Virgin Islands 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 December 2022

He came through the youth team at Port Vale, and has played for Mansfield Town, Stafford Rangers, Leek Town, Solihull Moors, Kidsgrove Athletic, Nantwich Town and Hanley Town.

Club career

Bell came through the youth team at Port Vale and turned professional with the League Two club under Micky Adams in April 2010.[2] However, he failed to make a first team appearance at Vale Park and was released in May 2011.[3]

He signed a one-year contract with Conference National club Mansfield Town in June 2011.[4] Manager Paul Cox stated that "He has a lovely left foot, is tenacious, has high fitness levels and can play at left-back, left-midfield and even in central midfield".[5] He was loaned out to Northern Premier League side Stafford Rangers in December 2011 and Leek Town in March 2012.[6][7]

He signed with Kidsgrove Athletic in February 2015.[8] He joined Nantwich Town in May 2015.[9] He helped the "Dabbers" to reach the semi-finals of the FA Trophy in 2015–16, scoring 12 goals in all competitions, and then to qualify for the Northern Premier League play-offs the following season, scoring eight goals from 51 appearances.[10][11] This season also saw him collect the Players Player of the Year award for his performances.[12] He lifted the Cheshire Senior Cup after scoring in a 3–0 win over Stockport Town in the 2018 final.[13] He also played and scored in the 2019 final, a 5–2 victory over Cammell Laird 1907.[14] He also helped the "Dabbers" to reach the 2018–19 play-offs, where they were beaten by Warrington Town in the semi-finals.[15]

Bell re-joined Leek Town in October 2019, ending his Nantwich Town record with 31 goals from 199 competitive appearances.[16] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2019–20 Northern Premier League Division One South East season was formally abandoned on 26 March 2020, with all results from the season being expunged.[17] He scored five goals from eleven games in the 2020–21 season, which was also curtailed early due to the pandemic on 24 February 2021.[18] He made 13 appearances at the start of the 2021–22 season, scoring one goal, before he re-signed with Nantwich Town on 12 December.[19][20] He played 18 times for Nantwich in the second half of the season.[21] He joined Hanley Town in 2023.[22]

International career

Bell was called up to the British Virgin Islands squad and made his debut on 26 March 2015, in a 3–2 defeat to Dominica at Windsor Park in the first round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[23] He played in the reverse fixture three days later, a 0–0 draw which eliminated the British Virgin Islands from the competition.[24]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 December 2022
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoal
Port Vale 2009–10[25]League Two0000000000
2010–11[25]League Two0000000000
Total 0000000000
Mansfield Town 2011–12[25]Conference National1000000010
Solihull Moors 2011–12[25]Conference North4000000040
Leek Town (loan) 2011–12[26]Northern Premier League Division One South120000000120
Leek Town 2012–13[26]Northern Premier League Division One South392302030472
2013–14[26]Northern Premier League Division One South413201070513
2014–15[26]Northern Premier League Division One South235511052348
Total 115101014015214413
Nantwich Town 2017–18[27] Northern Premier League Premier Division3781024710
2018–19[28] Northern Premier League Premier Division32151372
Leek Town 2019–20[19] Northern Premier League Division One South East162002020202
2020–21[19] Northern Premier League Division One South East74210020115
2021–22[19] Northern Premier League Division One West121100000131
Total 357312040448
Nantwich Town 2021–22[21] Northern Premier League Premier Division170000010180
2022–23[29] Northern Premier League Premier Division130100020160
Total 300100030340

Honours

Nantwich Town

References
  1. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2010/11". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  2. "Vale trio offered deals". Sky Sports. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  3. "Kris Taylor and Matthew Bell released by Port Vale". BBC Sport. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  4. "Stags make double swoop for Matt Bell and Anthony Howell". Nottingham Post. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  5. "Stags land Port Vale youngster Matt Bell". Chad. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  6. "Matthew Bell set to leave Rangers". Express & Star. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  7. "Mansfield Town defender Matt Bell joins Leek Read". Nottingham Post. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  8. Sharpe, Rich (13 February 2015). "Kidsgrove Athletic sign Matt Bell from Leek Town". The Sentinel. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  9. "Nantwich Town new boy Matt Bell says joining was "easy choice"". Nantwich News. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  10. "2015/16 Player Stats - Nantwich Town FC". Nantwich Town FC. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  11. "Matt Bell - Nantwich Town FC". Nantwich Town FC. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. "2016/17 End of Season Awards Evening". Nantwich Town FC. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  13. Templeman, Ian. "Cheshire Senior Cup Final - Nantwich Town 3 Stockport Town 0". www.nwcfl.com. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  14. "Nantwich Town win back to back Cheshire Cup finals after 5-2 win over Cammell Laird". The Nantwich News. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  15. Morse, Peter (1 May 2019). "Nantwich Town's super season ends with Play Off semi defeat". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  16. "Matt Bell midfielder leaves Nantwich Town to join Leek Town". Nantwich News. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  17. "Coronavirus: All football below National League to end". BBC Sport. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  18. "FA Update On Steps 3-6". 24 February 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  19. "Leek Town | Appearances | Matt Bell | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. Price, Liam (12 December 2021). "Midfielder Matt Bell re-signs for Nantwich Town". Nantwich News. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  21. "Nantwich Town | Appearances | Matt Bell | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  22. Price, Liam (24 February 2023). "Matt Bell departs the Dabbers to join Hanley". Nantwich Town. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  23. "British Virgin Islands vs. Dominica 2 - 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  24. "Dominica vs. British Virgin Islands 0 - 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  25. Matthew Bell at Soccerway
  26. "PlayerStats - LeekTownSE". leektown.net. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  27. "2018/19 Player Stats". Nantwich Town FC. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  28. "2018/19 Player Stats". Nantwich Town FC. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  29. "Nantwich Town | Appearances | Matt Bell | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
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