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Craig Clay
English footballer (born 1992) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Craig William Clay (born 5 May 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish League One side Kelty Hearts as a centre-back or midfielder.
He has previously had spells as a professional for Chesterfield, York City, Grimsby Town and Motherwell before a four-year spell with Leyton Orient where he won several promotions and was voted the player of the year in 2019. He has also played semi-professionally for Barrow, Alfreton Town, FC Halifax Town and Worksop Town. In 2016 he was capped once by England C.
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Club career
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Chesterfield
Clay was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.[5] He started his career with Chesterfield's youth system in 2008 and was part of the team that won the Youth League.[6][7] He was named Chesterfield's Young Player of the Year for the 2008–09 season.[8] His first involvement with the first team came as an unused substitute in a League Two match against Torquay United on 16 January 2010.[9] He made the bench on a number occasions through the rest of 2009–10, but did not make an appearance.[9]
He signed a two-year professional contract with Chesterfield in June 2010.[10] He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2010, in a 3–0 home win over Cheltenham Town, replacing Mark Allott in the 85th minute.[11] On 2 October 2010, he scored his first professional goal with a 25-yard shot during stoppage time to earn a 5–5 draw at home to Crewe Alexandra.[11][12] On 28 October 2010, Clay joined Conference Premier club Barrow on a one-month loan with Chesterfield teammate Tendayi Darikwa.[13] His only appearance for Barrow came two days later, in a 5–0 defeat away to Rushden & Diamonds.[14] He made four appearances and scored one goal for Chesterfield in 2010–11,[11] in which the club was promoted to League One as League Two champions.[15]
Clay was loaned out by Chesterfield for a second time on 20 January 2012, joining Conference Premier club Alfreton Town on a one-month loan.[16][17] Four days later, he scored Alfreton's third goal in a 3–0 win away to Bath City on his debut with a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 90th minute.[18][19] Clay finished the loan with one goal in four appearances.[20] He made one more appearance for Chesterfield before the end of 2011–12, which he finished with eight appearances[18] as the club was relegated to League Two in 22nd place.[21]
He signed a new one-year contract with Chesterfield in May 2012.[22] His only goal of 2012–13 came in a 6–1 win over League One team Hartlepool United in the FA Cup first round on 3 November 2012.[23] Clay had a double hernia operation in March 2013 and after returning made one more appearance before the end of the season, as an 89th-minute substitute in a 2–0 victory away to Barnet on 6 April.[23][24] He was released by Chesterfield on 29 April 2013[25] after making 23 appearances and scoring one goal in 2012–13.[23]
York City
Clay signed for League Two club York City on 17 May 2013 on a two-year contract.[26][27] He made his debut in a 1–0 home win over Northampton Town on 3 August 2013, in the first match of 2013–14.[28] Having made 10 appearances for York,[28] Clay left the club by mutual consent on 13 January 2014, along with Jamal Fyfield.[29]
FC Halifax Town and Worksop Town
He signed for Conference Premier club FC Halifax Town on 16 January 2014 on a one-month contract[30][31] and made his debut two days later in a 1–1 home draw with Cambridge United.[20] After making four appearances for the club he was released on 24 February 2014.[32] Nearly a month later, Clay signed for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Worksop Town on 21 March 2014.[33] He made his debut the following day as an 84th-minute substitute for Shane Clarke in a 2–0 away win over Stafford Rangers.[34]
Grimsby Town
Clay signed for Conference Premier club Grimsby Town on 28 July 2014 on a one-year contract, having spent the pre-season on trial.[35] On 15 May 2016, he started for Grimsby as they beat Forest Green Rovers 3–1 at Wembley Stadium in the 2016 National League play-off final.[36] This meant Grimsby were promoted to League Two, after a six-year absence from the Football League.[36] Clay was released when his contract expired at the end of the 2015–16 season.[37]
Motherwell
Upon his release from Grimsby, Clay joined South African Premier Division club Bidvest Wits on trial.[38] Clay then joined Scottish Premiership club Motherwell on trial,[39] playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 victory over East Stirlingshire in the Scottish League Cup on 26 July 2016.[40] Clay made his league debut on 6 August 2016 in a 2–1 victory away to Kilmarnock,[41] before signing a two-year contract with the club on 10 August.[42] He scored his first goal for the club on 28 December 2016, in a 2–1 win away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[43]
Leyton Orient
Clay signed for newly relegated National League club Leyton Orient on 17 July 2017 on a two-year contract.[44] He went on to win both the National League and EFL League Two titles with the club over the 6 years he was with them. His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Sutton United
On 30 June 2023, Clay signed for EFL League Two side Sutton United.[45]
Dunfermline Athletic
Clay signed for Dunfermline Athletic of the Scottish second tier in September 2024.[46]
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International career
Clay made his debut for the England C national team as a substitute in their 2–0 away win over Ukraine under-20s in the International Challenge Trophy on 22 March 2016.[47]
Career statistics
- As of match played 2 April 2021
- Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- Includes League Cup, Scottish League Cup
- Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
- Three appearances in FA Trophy, three in Conference Premier play-offs
- Three appearances in FA Trophy, two in National League play-offs
- Appearances in FA Trophy
Honours
Grimsby Town
Leyton Orient
Individual
- Chesterfield Young Player of the Year: 2008–09[8]
- Grimsby Town Young Player of the Year: 2014–15[57]
References
External links
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