Kai McKenzie-Lyle

Kai McKenzie-Lyle

Personal information
Full name	Kai John Oliver Milton McKenzie-Lyle[1]
Date of birth	(1997-01-30) 30 January 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Haringey, England
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Oxford City
Youth career
	Tottenham Hotspur
2011–2014	Barnet
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2018	Barnet	1	(0)
2016	→ Cockfosters (loan)	8	(0)
2017	→ St Ives Town (loan)	6	(0)
2017–2018	→ Hayes & Yeading United (loan)	7	(0)
2018–2020	Liverpool	0	(0)
2020–2022	Cambridge United	1	(0)
2022	→ Chelmsford City (loan)	9	(0)
2022–2023	Welling United	16	(0)
2024	Folkestone Invicta	13	(0)
2024–	Oxford City	0	(0)
International career^‡
2016–	Guyana	13	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:41, 6 July 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:37, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

Kai John Oliver Milton McKenzie-Lyle (born 30 January 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League North club Oxford City. Born in England, he represents Guyana at international level.

Club career

Barnet

McKenzie-Lyle joined Tottenham Hotspur as under-10, before he moved to Barnet as an under-14 and progressed through the club's academy to become first choice keeper for the under-18s,[3] and made his senior debut with a start in a 3–0 Herts Senior Cup defeat to Bishop's Stortford on 21 January 2014.[4] He first appeared on the bench in the league in October 2014.[5] He made his English Football League debut on 12 September 2015 in a 3–1 League Two away defeat by Portsmouth,[6] coming on as a substitute for John Akinde after regular goalkeeper Jamie Stephens had been sent-off.[7] McKenzie-Lyle joined St Ives Town in August 2017 on loan.[8] He then joined Hayes & Yeading United on loan in December 2017.[9]

Liverpool

McKenzie-Lyle joined Liverpool on trial in July 2018.[10] He then signed for the Reds the following month.[11] McKenzie-Lyle was released in June 2020, having played just twice for the under-23s in Premier League 2.[12]

Cambridge United

On 1 September 2020, McKenzie-Lyle joined League Two club Cambridge United on a two-year deal.[13] On 25 March 2022, Chelmsford City announced the signing of McKenzie-Lyle on loan.[14]

McKenzie-Lyle was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.[15]

Non-league

McKenzie-Lyle joined Welling United in August 2022.[5]

On 6 February 2024, Mckenzie-Lyle joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Folkestone Invicta.[16]

McKenzie-Lyle joined Oxford City for the 2024-25 season.[17]

International career

McKenzie-Lyle was called up to Guyana's squad for their third round matches of 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification,[18] after being alerted to his eligibility by Jack Thorpe, a researcher for the Football Manager game.[19] He made an unusual international debut for a goalkeeper,[20] scoring a header in the 120th minute of a 3–2 loss against Suriname.[21] On his second appearance he saved a penalty against Jamaica.[22]

Personal life

McKenzie-Lyle's younger brother Renell (born 2000) is also a goalkeeper and product of the youth system at Barnet.[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 April 2024

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
Barnet	2013–14[4]	Conference Premier	0	0	0	0	―		1[a]	0	1	0
	2014–15[24]		0	0	0	0	―		1[a]	0	1	0
	2015–16[6]	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2016–17[25][26]		0	0	0	0	0	0	1[b]	0	1	0
	2017–18[27][28]		0	0	0	0	0	0	1[b]	0	1	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	5	0
Cockfosters (loan)	2015–16[29]	Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division	8	0	―		―		0	0	8	0
St Ives Town (loan)	2017–18[24]	Southern League Premier Division	6	0	0	0	―		―		6	0
Hayes & Yeading United (loan)	2017–18[24]	Southern League First Division East	7	0	―		―		1[c]	0	8	0
Liverpool	2018–19[5]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2019–20[5]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cambridge United	2020–21[30]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2021–22[31]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	4[d]	0	5	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	5	0
Chelmsford City (loan)	2021–22[5]	National League South	9	0	0	0	—		0	0	9	0
Welling United	2022–23[5]	National League South	16	0	3	0	—		6[e]	0	25	0
Folkestone Invicta	2023–24[32]	Isthmian League Premier Division	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
Career total			61	0	3	0	0	0	17	0	81	0

1. Appearance in Herts Senior Cup
2. Appearance in Middlesex Senior Cup
3. Appearance in Southern League Challenge Cup
4. Appearance in the EFL Trophy
5. Two appearances in the FA Trophy, three appearances in the Kent Senior Cup, one appearance in the London Senior Cup

International

As of match played 20 June 2023[20]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Guyana	2016	2	1
	2017	0	0
	2018	3	0
	2021	4	0
	2022	0	0
	2023	4	0
Total		13	1

Scores and results list Guyana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McKenzie-Lyle goal.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	8 October 2016	André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo, Suriname	Suriname	2–3	2–3	2017 Caribbean Cup qualification	[20]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Cambridge United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 16. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. "Kai McKenzie-Lyle". Barnet F.C. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
3. "Barnet FC Youth Team Profiles". Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
4. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.bsfc.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
5. Kai McKenzie-Lyle at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
6. "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
7. "Portsmouth 3 – 1 Barnet". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
8. "Loan | Kai McKenzie-Lyle joins St Ives Town". www.barnetfc.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
9. "Loans | McKenzie-Lyle and Amaluzor depart for 28 days". www.barnetfc.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
10. "6'7" goalkeeper on trial at Liverpool FC this summer". 25 July 2018.
11. "Liverpool FC – Kai McKenzie-Lyle".
12. "Nathaniel Clyne set to leave Reds upon contract expiry". Liverpool FC. 25 June 2020.
13. "Kai McKenzie-Lyle: Cambridge sign Guyana international and ex-Liverpool goalkeeper". BBC. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
14. "McKenzie-Lyle joins on loan". Chelmsford City F.C. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.^[permanent dead link‍]
15. "2022 Retained List". www.cambridge-united.co.uk. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
16. "Welcome: Kai McKenzie-Lyle". folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
17. https://www.oxfordcityfc.co.uk/kai-mckenzie-lyle-signs-for-oxford-city ^[bare URL]
18. "Jaguars name 22". 1 October 2016.
19. O'Donovan, Ryan (14 September 2018). "How McKenzie-Smith made the leap from Barnet to the Premier League". Football.London.
20. "Kai McKenzie-Lyle". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
21. "Caribbean Cup Recap: October 8, 2016 matches". Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
22. "Late escape!".
23. "Renell McKenzie-Lyle". Barnet F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
24. "Kai Mckenzie Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
25. "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
26. Report: Barnet 3-3 Enfield Town (5-6 on pens)
27. "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
28. @BarnetFC (7 November 2017). "⚽️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
29. "Kai McKenzie-Lyle – Cockfosters 1st Team". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
30. "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
31. "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
32. "Folkestone Invicta | Appearances | Kai McKenzie-Lyle | 2023-2024 | Football Web Pages".

External links

• Kai McKenzie-Lyle at Soccerbase