Stephen Kingsley

Stephen Kingsley
Personal information
Full name Stephen Iain Kingsley[1]
Date of birth (1994-07-23) 23 July 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Stirling, Scotland
Position(s) Left-back, Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Heart of Midlothian
Number 3
Youth career
2004–2011 Falkirk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Falkirk 88 (1)
2014–2017 Swansea City 17 (0)
2015 → Yeovil Town (loan) 12 (0)
2015 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 12 (0)
2017–2020 Hull City 45 (0)
2020– Heart of Midlothian 113 (11)
International career‡
2011–2012 Scotland U18 2 (0)
2012–2013 Scotland U19 6 (0)
2015–2016 Scotland U21 6 (0)
2016– Scotland 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2022

Stephen Iain Kingsley (born 23 July 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Falkirk, Swansea City, and Hull City, as well as appearing for Yeovil Town and Crewe Alexandra on loan.

Career

Falkirk

Aged 16, Kingsley made his first-team debut for Falkirk on 12 April 2011 in a 2–1 win versus Partick Thistle in the Scottish First Division.[2] He sustained an injury in a 2011–12 Scottish League Cup tie against Brechin City that kept him out of action for over three months. He returned to the starting lineup in a League Cup win against Dundee United. In March 2013, Kingsley signed a new contract with Falkirk.[3] Kingsley made his 100th appearance for Falkirk on 5 April 2014, in a 5–0 victory over Cowdenbeath. He was also voted in to the SPFL Championship Team of the Year for season 2013–14.

Swansea City

On 30 June 2014, Kingsley signed for Swansea City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[4]

On 18 February 2015, Kingsley joined English League One side Yeovil Town on a month's emergency loan which was later extended until the end of the season.[5] Kingsley played in numerous positions in his 12 appearances for the Glovers including left-back, centre-back and midfield, and received praise for his versatility from Yeovil boss Terry Skiverton.[6] Yeovil were subsequently relegated to League Two at the end of the season and Kingsley returned to Swansea City.

Kingsley joined English League One side Crewe Alexandra on an emergency loan in August 2015.[7] He made 12 appearances for them before returning to Swansea after the emergency loan expired in November.

He made his Swansea City debut in their FA Cup 3–2 defeat away to Oxford United, on 10 January 2016.[8] He made his Premier League debut on 2 March 2016 in Swansea's 2–1 victory away to Arsenal.[9]

Hull City

Kingsley moved to Championship club Hull City in August 2017 for an undisclosed fee.[10] He was released by Hull at the end of the 2019–20 season.[11]

Heart of Midlothian

Kingsley signed a one-year contract with Hearts on 6 October 2020.[11] He played and scored for Hearts in the 2020 Scottish Cup Final, which finished 3–3 after extra time, but his effort in the subsequent penalty shootout was saved by Conor Hazard as Hearts lost 4–3 on penalties.[12]

On 21 January 2021, Kingsley signed an 18-month contract extension with Hearts, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2021–22 season. He further extended his Hearts stay in January 2022, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract and keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.[13] He then further extended his contract on 6 August 2024 with a new three-year contract until the summer of 2027.[14]

Kingsley quickly became known as an efficient taker of the direct free kick, scoring several long-range strikes for Hearts since joining.[15] He scored what proved to be the match-winning goal in the semi-final of the 2021–22 Scottish Cup – an Edinburgh derby against Hibernian – from a 30-yard free kick, albeit assisted with a wall pass from Liam Boyce.[16][17]

International career

In April 2012 Kingsley was called up to the Scotland under-18 squad for two games against Serbia in Belgrade on the 17th and 19th of the month. He played 90 minutes in the first game, which ended 1–1, and 60 minutes in the second game, where Scotland won 4–1. In season 2012–13 he appeared for Scotland under-19s against Germany and the Netherlands. He was selected for the squad for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualification matches in October, playing in the third game against Switzerland. This was followed in March with an appearance in the friendly match against Sweden. In May he played in two of the Elite qualifying round games in Belgium against Belgium and Georgia. In March 2015, Kingsley made his Scotland under-21 debut in a 2–1 win against Hungary. This was followed up with four appearances for the side against France twice, Northern Ireland and Iceland in their Euro Championship Qualifying group.

On 20 May 2016, Kingsley received his first call-up to the Scotland national football team for their friendlies against Italy and France.[18] He made his Scotland debut as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat against France, on 4 June 2016.[19]

Kingsley was recalled to the national team squad in September 2022 as a replacement for the injured Kieran Tierney and Scott McKenna.[20] He appeared as a substitute in a goalless draw with Ukraine that secured a promotion for Scotland in the UEFA Nations League.[21]

Career statistics

As of 2 December 2024[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Falkirk 2010–11[23] Scottish First Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2011–12[24] Scottish First Division 15 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 17 0
2012–13[25] Scottish First Division 35 0 4 0 2 1 2[a] 0 43 1
2013–14[26] Scottish Championship 35 1 1 0 3 0 5[b] 0 44 1
Total 88 1 5 0 6 1 8 0 107 2
Swansea City 2014–15[27] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2015–16[28] Premier League 4 0 1 0 0 0 — 5 0
2016–17[29] Premier League 13 0 1 0 0 0 — 14 0
Total 17 0 2 0 0 0 — 19 0
Yeovil Town (loan) 2014–15[27] League One 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2015–16[28] League One 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
Hull City 2017–18[30] Championship 11 0 0 0 0 0 — 11 0
2018–19[31] Championship 26 0 0 0 1 0 — 27 0
2019–20[32] Championship 8 0 0 0 0 0 — 8 0
Total 45 0 0 0 1 0 — 46 0
Heart of Midlothian 2020–21[33] Scottish Championship 20 4 2[c] 1 4 0 — 26 5
2021–22[34] Scottish Premiership 33 6 5 1 5 0 — 43 7
2022–23[35] Scottish Premiership 21 0 3 0 0 0 7[d] 0 31 0
2023–24[36] Scottish Premiership 32 1 4 0 3 0 4[e] 0 43 1
2024–25[37] Scottish Premiership 7 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 12 0
Total 113 11 14 2 13 0 15 0 155 13
Career total 287 12 21 2 20 1 23 0 351 15
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Four appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs, one appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  3. ^ Two appearances in the previous season's Scottish Cup which was rescheduled to October due to COVID-19
  4. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, five appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 27 September 2022[38]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2016 1 0
2022 1 0
Total 2 0

Honours

Falkirk
Heart of Midlothian

References

  1. ^ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  2. ^ "Partick Thistle 1–2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Pressley Delight at Contract Extensions". Falkirk FC. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Swans sign Falkirk youngster Kingsley". Swansea City A.F.C. Retrieved 30 June 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Stephen Kingsley: Yeovil Town sign Swansea City defender". BBC Sport. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Stephen Kingsley is Mr Versatile for Terry Skiverton at Yeovil Town". westerngazette.co.uk. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Crewe Alexandra: Liverpool winger Wilson & Swansea's Kingsley join". BBC Sport. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Oxford United 3–2 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Arsenal 1–2 Swansea City". BBC Sport. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Stephen Kingsley: Hull City sign Swansea City defender on three-year deal". BBC Sport. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Stephen Kingsley joins Hearts as free agent". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Celtic 3–3 Hearts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Kingsley signs long-term contract | Heart Of Midlothian Football Club". www.heartsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Kingsley extends contract to 2027 – Hearts". www.heartsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Stephen Kingsley explains how he has mastered the art of free-kicks for Hearts". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  16. ^ Stephen Kingsley admits Hearts free-kick change of plan that led to stunning Hampden winner vs Hibs, Ross Pilcher, Football Scotland, 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022
  17. ^ Kingsley reveals set-piece plan after netting Hampden winner, Andy Coyle, STV News, 16 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022
  18. ^ "Scotland call up Stephen Kingsley and Jack Hamilton". BBC Sport. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  19. ^ "France 3–0 Scotland". BBC Sport. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  20. ^ Cassidy, Peter (25 September 2022). "Hearts duo Barrie McKay and Stephen Kingsley called up to Scotland squad as trio drop out". STV News. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  21. ^ Johnson, Phil (27 September 2022). "Outstanding Ryan Porteous debut helps Scotland secure Euro 2024 play-off". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Stephen Kingsley Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  23. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  25. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  26. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  28. ^ a b "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  29. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  30. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2019. Note that Soccerbase currently does not show the appearance v match v Bolton, they list only ten appearances.
  31. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  32. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  34. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  35. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Games played by Stephen Kingsley in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  38. ^ Stephen Kingsley at the Scottish Football Association
  39. ^ "Falkirk 1–0 Hamilton Accies". BBC Sport. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2016.