Patrick Almond

Patrick Joseph Almond (born 13 December 2002) is an English[1] professional footballer who currently plays as a central defender for both Shildon AFC and Darlington on dual registration.

Patrick Almond
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-12-13) 13 December 2002
Place of birth Northumberland, England
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Darlington
Number 15
Youth career
2012–2014 Wallsend Boys Club
2014–2021 Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Sunderland 0 (0)
2022 → Blyth Spartans (loan) 21 (1)
2022– Shildon 2 (0)
2022– Darlington 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:47, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

Professional career

Sunderland AFC

Almond is a product of Sunderland's Academy system having been there since the age of 11 and was a regular starter in the Under-23 team during the 2020–21 season.[2] He signed his first Professional Contract in the summer of 2021, which was incorrectly reported as an extension to a previous Contract.[3]

He was an unused first-team substitute for two EFL Trophy games against Fleetwood Town and Lincoln City in the 2020–21 season after impressing for the Under-23s.[4] He gained his senior professional debut in the same competition on 13 October 2021, in a 2–1 win over Manchester United U-23s[5] after also being an unused substitute against Lincoln City the week before, again in the EFL Trophy.

Blyth Spartans (loan)

On 14 January 2022, Almond joined National League North side Blyth Spartans on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[6] He made his League debut for Blyth Spartans during the win against Alfreton Town on 22 January 2022. [7] Almond went on to score his first senior goal against Southport FC in a League fixture on the 22 February 2022. [8]

Almond went on to be an every present in the Blyth Spartans team for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, making 24 senior appearances in total, including the Northumberland Senior Cup win against Newcastle United U23’s at St James’ Park on 5 May 2022.[9] Almond returned to Sunderland AFC at the end of his loan spell but was released at the end of the 2021-22 season in June 2022.

Return to football

After being involved in a car accident in June 2022, Almond returned to football in November 2022 playing for Shildon in the Northern Premier League Division One East, making his debut against Grimsby Borough.[10]

On 13 December 2022, Almond was signed on dual registration by Darlington as defensive cover during the remainder of the 2022–23 season.[11] He went on to make his debut as a substitute in the FA Trophy win against Spennymoor Town on 20 December.[12] During an FA Trophy match at Southend United on 14 January 2023, Almond suffered a suspected concussion and was taken to hospital locally, where he was diagnosed with a bleed on the brain and transferred to a London hospital for specialist treatment.[13]

After spending nearly 3 weeks in hospital Almond was discharged to start his recovery at home, with his football career in the balance, [14] but remained hopeful and positive that a return was possible.[15]

Career statistics
As of match played 14 January 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sunderland 2021–22[16] League One 0000001[lower-alpha 1]010
Blyth Spartans (loan) 2021–22[17][18] National League North 21100003[lower-alpha 2]0241
Shildon 2022–23[19] Northern Premier League Division One East 2000000020
Darlington 2022–23[17] National League North 2000002[lower-alpha 3]040
Career total 251000060311
  1. Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in Northumberland Senior Cup
  3. Appearance in FA Trophy

References
  1. Jamieson, Stuart (2021-06-12). "5 Sunderland players who could step up to first-team level". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  2. "Elliott Dickman has this message as new-look Sunderland Under-23 side start pre-season with a win". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  3. Jamieson, Stuart (2021-07-01). "Sunderland sign six youngsters for Under-23 side". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  4. Hunter, James (2021-02-20). "Lee Johnson predicts 'bright future' for a young Sunderland academy graduate". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  5. "EFL Trophy (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  6. "Loan deal: Almond joins Blyth Spartans". Sunderland AFC. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  7. Carruthers, Mark (2022-01-22). "Sunderland youngster Almond receives praise after making debut on loan at Blyth Spartans". www.sunderlandecho.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  8. "Report | Southport 2-3 Blyth Spartans | National League North | 21/22". Blyth Spartans AFC. 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  9. "Report | Newcastle United U23s 2-3 Blyth Spartans | Northumberland Senior Cup Final | 21/22". Blyth Spartans AFC. 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  10. Chris Hughes spoke to Chris Pearce following today's 1-1 draw with Grimsby Borough FC, retrieved 2022-11-21
  11. "Quakers sign defender Patrick Almond". darlingtonfc.co.uk. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  12. "Superb Quakers cruise to victory at Spennymoor". darlingtonfc.co.uk. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  13. Wilson, Scott (14 January 2023). "Darlington: Paddy Almond rushed to hospital with bleed on brain". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. "Darlington FC player Paddy Almond says career future is uncertain after suffering bleed on the brain". itv.com. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  15. "Almond 'fortunate' after life-threatening injury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  16. "Games played by Patrick Almond in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  17. "P. Almond". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  18. For Northumberland Senior Cup appearances, via match reports linked at "Northumberland Senior Cup". Blyth Spartans AFC. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022.
  19. "Shildon – Appearances – Patrick Almond". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
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