Stephen Hoyle

Stephen Hoyle (born 6 November 1992) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for New Zealand club Eastern Suburbs.

Stephen Hoyle
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-11-06) 6 November 1992
Place of birth Barnsley, England
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Eastern Suburbs
Number 17
Youth career
Barnsley
2009–2011 Doncaster Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Napier City Rovers 20 (11)
2012–2013 Hawke's Bay United 16 (4)
2013 Toronto Lynx 5 (0)
2014 South Adelaide Panthers 25 (3)
2015 Napier City Rovers 20 (16)
2015–2016 WaiBOP United 14 (10)
2016–2018 Canterbury United 52 (26)
2019 Valour FC 6 (1)
2019– Eastern Suburbs 6 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 December 2019

Hoyle has played football in four different confederations, at clubs in England and Scotland in Europe, New Zealand in Oceania, Australia in Asia, and Canada in North America.

Club career

Early career

As a youngster, Hoyle trained at England's FA Academy and with his hometown club Barnsley. He also spent time with the Doncaster Rovers youth side and at the University of Stirling in Scotland. He was converted from a defender to a midfielder during his earlier career.[1]

Hoyle's first stint abroad was in New Zealand with Napier City Rovers and Hawke's Bay United, where he scored a goal in the New Zealand Football Championship playoffs. He then joined Canadian side Toronto Lynx in the Premier Development League, effectively an American fourth division, in 2013. He appeared in five matches for the club, tallying two assists without scoring,[2] and underwent a trial with Toronto FC under then-manager Ryan Nelsen, a New Zealander.[1]

Return to New Zealand

Hoyle returned to New Zealand and became a striker at the start of the 2015-16 season with WaiBOP United. He ranked among the top 10 goalscorers in the Premiership for four straight seasons from 2015 to 2019, and was Canterbury United's top scorer in the 2017–18 and 2018-19 season.[3]

Valour FC

Hoyle signed for Winnipeg side Valour FC in the newly launched Canadian Premier League ahead of the 2019 season.[4] He was the second signing in club history and the first international signing for head coach Rob Gale.[5] He scored the first ever goal for the club in its first competitive game, a 2–1 win away to Pacific FC at Westhills Stadium in Langford, BC on 1 May 2019, before being substituted in the second half.[6] He left Valour by mutual consent on 9 July 2019.[7][8]

Eastern Suburbs

Hoyle returned to New Zealand ahead of the 2019–20 NZ Premiership season and signed with defending champions Eastern Suburbs.[9]

Personal life

Hoyle's girlfriend Jill is a New Zealander, and he took up residency during his time in the country.[4] His younger brother James plays as a defender for New Zealand side Hamilton Wanderers.[4] The brothers were teammates at Napier City Rovers[10] and WaiBOP United.

Honours

Club

Napier City Rovers

Individual

WaiBOP United

Canterbury United

References
  1. Neil Davidson (11 December 2018). "Winnipeg's Valour FC makes English striker Stephen Hoyle its 1st international signing". Canadian Press. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. "Soccerstats.us Profile". Soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  3. "Success Celebrated with a Heavy Heart". We Are Canterbury. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  4. Ed Tait (11 December 2018). "From Christchurch to Canada: 'History'-seeking Stephen Hoyle joins Valour FC". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. Taylor Allen (16 April 2019). "Footballer excited to be in Canada". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. "HIGHLIGHTS: Hoyle, Carreiro efforts lift Valour to monumental first win". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  7. "Valour FC Release Forward Stephen Hoyle". 9 July 2019.
  8. "S. Hoyle". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  9. Jeff Cheshire (2 November 2019). "Auckland City starts favourite". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. Brendon Egan (3 August 2016). "English striker Stephen Hoyle hoping to make impact for Canterbury United". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  11. Anendra Singh (2 May 2015). "Football: Brothers build on Barnsley connection". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  12. DarelNix (18 March 2016). "Hilliar double win leads player awards". waibopunited.co.nz. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  13. Kelly Moore (11 December 2018). "Valour FC goes down under to add British striker Stephen Hoyle". Global News. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
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