Stephen Evans (footballer)

Stephen Evans
Personal information
Full name Stephen James Evans[1]
Date of birth (1980-09-25) 25 September 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Caerphilly, Wales
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
–1998 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2002 Crystal Palace 6 (0)
2001 → Swansea City (loan) 6 (0)
2002–2004 Brentford 48 (5)
2004–2007 Woking 84 (9)
2007–2008 Crawley Town 29 (2)
2009–2010 Llanelli 7 (1)
2010–2011 Carmarthen Town 20 (0)
International career
1998 Wales U18 1 (0)
2000–2001 Wales U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stephen James Evans (born 25 September 1980) is a Welsh football midfielder who last played for Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town.

Stephen retired from professional football in 2011, and explored other career paths.

Club career

Evans began his career as a trainee with Crystal Palace, turning professional in August 1998. He had previously had trials with Norwich City and Cardiff City before being signed by Palace. Evans' league debut came for Palace on 6 February 1999 when he was a late substitute, for Leon McKenzie in a 1–1 draw at home to Birmingham City. He made four further substitute appearances later that season. The following season he played just twice, against Crewe Alexandra in the league and against Colchester United in the League Cup.

He missed most of the 2000–01 season through injury, returning for the final game of the season as a late substitute for Wayne Carlisle in a 4–2 win away to Portsmouth. Evans joined Swansea City on loan in November 2001,[2] playing six times in the league and twice in the FA Cup. He returned to Crystal Palace, but was allowed to join Brentford on a free transfer in March 2002.[3] He was released by Brentford in May 2004.[4]

He joined Working F.C. in August 2004 after a successful trial,[5] leaving to join Crawley Town in January 2007. He struggled to establish himself at Crawley, particularly after his namesake, the manager Steve Evans took over and joined Llanelli in January 2008.[6] He went on to score twice in 7 appearances that season and also played in Llanelli's Welsh Cup final defeat to Bangor City.

2008–09 started with Steve's European debut, winning a throw in that led to Llanelli's winning goal against Ventspils in the Champions league, the Reds however lost the away leg 4–0 to crash out on aggregate. He played a key part in Llanelli's season, netting 7 goals in 30 appearances but left the club in June 2009 following the departure of manager Peter Nicholas. However, he returned to the club in November 2009 and made seven appearances during the 2009–10 season before leaving the club for a second time in June 2010, joining Carmarthen Town.[7][8]

International career

Evans was capped by Wales at U18 and U21 level.[9]

Personal life

Evans is a lifelong Liverpool supporter[10]

References

  1. ^ "Steve Evans". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
  2. ^ "Defender signs for Swansea". BBC Sport. 8 November 2001. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Brentford | News | Latest News | Latest News | EVO "V2" SIGNS". world.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Evans leads Bees exodus". BBC Sport. 13 May 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Woking snap up Evans". BBC Sport. 5 August 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Llanelli snap up midfielder Evans". BBC Sport. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  7. ^ "Morgan adds two more to old gold squad". welsh-premier.com. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Club guides". welsh-premier.com. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Steve Evans". 11v11.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Brentford Football Club". Archived from the original on 11 August 2002. Retrieved 26 December 2017.