Adrian Clifton

Adrian Clifton
Personal information
Full name Adrian Lewis Clifton[1]
Date of birth (1988-12-12) 12 December 1988 (age 36)[1]
Place of birth Hackney, England
Position(s) Forward[2]
Team information
Current team
 Hayes & Yeading United
Youth career
2000–2004 Arsenal
Norwich City
West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Romford 12 (1)
2012–2013 Waltham Forest 30 (10)
2013 East Thurrock United 9 (0)
2013–2015 Maidenhead United 70 (16)
2015–2016 Havant & Waterlooville 14 (2)
2016 → Staines Town (loan) 4 (0)
2016–2017 Staines Town 31 (8)
2017–2019 Maidenhead United 52 (21)
2019–2020 Bromley 24 (0)
2020–2021 Dagenham & Redbridge 6 (0)
2021–2022 Boreham Wood 27 (1)
2022–2023 Maidenhead United 18 (1)
2023 → Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) 14 (1)
2023–2024 Dulwich Hamlet 24 (3)
2024– Hayes & Yeading United 1 (2)
International career‡
2015– Montserrat 23 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:32, 10 August 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:33, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Adrian Lewis Clifton (born 12 December 1988) is an English born Montserratian footballer who plays as a forward for Hayes & Yeading United and the Montserrat national team.

Club career

Isthmian League

Clifton started his career in the youth ranks of Arsenal, developing with the club from the ages of 11 to 15,[3] followed by spells with Norwich City and West Ham United.[4] He served three prison sentences as a youngster before heading into non-league football. During his last prison sentence he featured on Ian Wright's TV show Football Behind Bars.[5]

The midfielder joined Isthmian League Division One North side Romford ahead of the 2011–12 season, having impressed in a pre-season trial. After a short stint playing in the non-pyramid TTFF League for Yalova, Clifton returned and scored on his debut in the FA Cup. Unable to reproduce the form he displayed in the summer, he left the club at the end of the season.[6]

Clifton joined Waltham Forest in August 2012, and took the captain's armband and while featuring regularly for the first team. In April 2013, Clifton left Waltham Forest to join East Thurrock United. Having declined several offers from teams in the Isthmian Division One North, he finally left in order to climb the ranks to the Isthmian Premier Division. His final game for Forest saw him score a hat-trick against Ilford.[7]

National League

Clifton featured nine times for East Thurrock United in the final month of the season, recording seven wins and two draws.[8] However, in May 2015 he was snapped up by National League South side Maidenhead United, who had been previously watching the midfielder.[9]

He won the Manager's Player of the Season award in 2013/14,[10] and was nicknamed 'Yaya' after comparisons with Yaya Touré.[11] At the end of his second season with the Magpies, he helped the club lift their first Berks & Bucks Senior Cup in four years, scoring in the 4–0 final win over Aylesbury United.[12] After two seasons at York Road, Clifton became Lee Bradbury's first signing at Havant & Waterlooville, joining in the summer of 2015 on a two-year contract.[13]

After suffering an injury that ruled him out for four months, Clifton joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Staines Town on a one-month loan in February 2016.[14] He made four appearances in his time with the club before returning to Havant.[15] He joined Staines permanently for the 2016–17 season.

On 22 July 2017, Maidenhead United's official Twitter account announced that Clifton had once again signed for them.[16] Clifton scored a brace against Bromley on 24 October 2017, though many sources incorrectly stated that he scored a hat-trick.[17] At the end of the 2018–19 season, Clifton won all five awards at the Magpies' end of season awards, winning the Player of the Season awards from each of the players, manager and supporters, the Golden Boot award with 15 goals in all competitions, and the Goal of the Season award.[18]

On 3 May 2019, it was announced that Clifton would join Bromley for the 2019–20 season.[2]

On 18 September 2020, Clifton signed for Dagenham & Redbridge.[19] He was released by Dagenham along with five others in June 2021 following the expiration of his contract.[20]

On 3 September 2021, Clifton signed for Boreham Wood.[21] After coming on as a substitute to score in Wood's FA Cup second round tie with St Albans City, Clifton then repeated the trick against AFC Wimbledon in round three to set up a clash with Championship high-flyers AFC Bournemouth.[22] Clifton came on as a late substitute as Boreham Wood exited the competition in front of a 38,836 crowd at Goodison Park in the fifth round.[23]

On 27 June 2022, Maidenhead United announced that Clifton had re-joined the club for a third spell.[24] On 17 February 2023, he joined Hampton & Richmond Borough on loan.[25] On 22 May, he announced that he was leaving the Magpies.[26]

On 4 June 2023, Dulwich Hamlet announced that Clifton had joined the club ahead of the 2023-24 season.[27]

International career

Clifton made his international debut for Montserrat on 31 March 2015, featuring in a 2–2 draw with Curaçao during 2018 World Cup qualification.[28]

Personal life

Clifton works as a gas engineer.[4]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Romford 2011–12[6] Isthmian League Division One North 12 1 — 12 1
Waltham Forest 2011–12[29] Isthmian League Division One North 5 1 — 5 1
2012–13[29] Isthmian League Division One North 25 9 — 25 9
Total 30 10 — 30 10
East Thurrock United 2012–13[30] Isthmian League Premier Division 9 0 — 9 0
Maidenhead United 2013–14 Conference South 40 7 1 0 — 5 0 46 7
2014–15 Conference South 30 9 2 0 — 4 1 36 10
Total 70 16 3 0 — 9 1 82 17
Havant & Waterlooville 2015–16[31] National League South 14 2 4 0 — 3 0 21 2
Staines Town (loan) 2015–16[32] Isthmian League Premier Division 4 0 0 0 — 0 0 4 0
Staines Town 2016–17[33] Isthmian League Premier Division 31 8 1 0 — 2 0 34 8
Maidenhead United 2017–18 National League 20 7 2 0 — 2 1 24 8
2018–19 National League 32 14 2 1 — 0 0 34 15
Total 52 21 4 1 — 2 1 58 23
Bromley 2019–20[31] National League 24 0 2 0 — 1 0 27 0
Dagenham & Redbridge 2020–21[31] National League 6 0 0 0 — 0 0 6 0
Boreham Wood 2021–22[31] National League 27 1 6 2 — 3 0 36 3
Maidenhead United 2022–23[31] National League 18 1 2 0 — 3 0 23 1
Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) 2022–23[31] National League South 14 1 0 0 — 0 0 14 1
Career total 311 61 22 3 — 23 2 356 66

International

As of match played 20 November 2023[34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Montserrat 2015 1 0
2018 3 0
2019 5 2
2021 3 2
2022 3 2
2023 8 0
Total 23 6

International goals

Scores and results list Montserrat's goal tally first.[34]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 March 2019 Ed Bush Stadium, West Bay, Cayman Islands 5  Cayman Islands 1–0 2–1 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
2 7 September 2019 Blakes Estate Stadium, Look Out, Montserrat 6  Dominican Republic 2–1 2–1 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B
3 2 June 2021 Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic 11  U.S. Virgin Islands 3–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 4–0
5 5 June 2022 Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 13  Guyana 1–0 1–2 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League B
6 12 June 2022 Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 15  Bermuda 2–1 3–2 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League B

Honours

Maidenhead United

References

  1. ^ a b "Adrian Clifton: Profile". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b Adrian Clifton signs for Bromley
  3. ^ "hawks.net : Adrian Clifton player profile". www.havantandwaterlooville.net. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b Maskell, N.--> (4 September 2018). "The Big Feature". Maidenhead United v. Eastleigh: Official Matchday Programme 2018-19. Maidenhead United F.C.
  5. ^ "Sport on TV: Wright hits the bars in a game that always goes to". The Independent. 12 September 2009. Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Adrian CLIFTON – Ex Players – Romford Football Club – 'The Boro'". www.romfordfc.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  7. ^ Gump, Forest. "Skipper Clifton heads for Rocks | Waltham Forest Football Club". Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Adrian Clifton – 1st Team – East Thurrock United FC". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Clifton arrives to provide steel to Maidenhead United midfield". www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Adrian Clifton - Maidenhead United First Team". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Maidenhead United teammates go gaga about 'Yaya'". Maidenhead Advertiser.
  12. ^ Association, The Football. "News | BerksBucksFA". www.berks-bucksfa.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  13. ^ "The National League Official Website – Clifton Joins – Two Commit to Hawks". footballconference.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Clifton On Loan – HWFC News – Havant and Waterlooville Football Club | Official Website". www.havantandwaterloovillefc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ "Staines Town | Appearances | Adrian Clifton". Football Web Pages.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  16. ^ Maidenhead United [@MUFCYorkRoad] (22 July 2017). "SIGNED we are pleased to announce that Adrian Clifton has signed on with the Magpies for 2017/18 ✒" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Bromley 2 – 3 Maidenhead United
  18. ^ @MUFCYorkRoad (27 April 2019). "😅 @A17Clifton has cleaned up here! 🏆 Managers Player 🏆 Players Player 🏆 Supporters Player 🏆 Golden Boot 🏆…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Clifton Joins The Daggers
  20. ^ Ranson, Jacob (18 June 2021). "Dagenham & Redbridge release six as they announce retained list". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  21. ^ admin (3 September 2021). "CLIFTON ARRIVES AT MEADOW PARK AHEAD OF STOCKPORT COUNTY CLASH". Boreham Wood Football Club. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Adrian Clifton happy to play cameo role in Boreham Wood's FA Cup dream". The Non-League Football Paper. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Everton end Boreham Wood's superb cup run". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  24. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/mufcyorkroad/status/1541421382168461320. Retrieved 27 June 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/MUFCYorkRoad/status/1626582249079721995. Retrieved 30 May 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/A17Clifton/status/1660701938592170003. Retrieved 30 May 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ^ "NEW STRIKER AS CLIFTON JOINS THE RANKS". Dulwich Hamlet Football Club. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  28. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Adrian Clifton". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  29. ^ a b "Adrian Clifton Profile | Aylesbury United FC".
  30. ^ "StackPath".
  31. ^ a b c d e f "Adrian Clifton". Soccerway.com.
  32. ^ "Staines Town | Appearances | Adrian Clifton | 2015-2016 | Football Web Pages".
  33. ^ "Staines Town | Appearances | Adrian Clifton | 2016-2017 | Football Web Pages".
  34. ^ a b "Adrian Clifton". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  35. ^ "Maidenhead United complete league and cup double after lifting Berks & Bucks Senior Cup". Windsor Express.