Ben Kennedy (footballer, born 1987)
Benjamin "Ben" Kennedy (born 14 February 1987) is a professional soccer goalkeeper who plays for Lambton Jaffas in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Kennedy | ||
| Date of birth | 14 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Lambton Jaffas | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Thornton | |||
| South Wallsend | |||
| Newcastle Jets | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2017 | Newcastle Jets | 114 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Central Coast Mariners | 45 | (0) |
| 2019– | Lambton Jaffas | 9 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006 | Australia U-20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2007 | Australia U-23 | 1 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 September 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2010 | |||
Club career
Newcastle Jets
Kennedy was a train-on player for the Newcastle Jets, but was brought into the full squad for the 2006–07 season. Until half-way through the season, Newcastle only had the inexperienced Kennedy as a registered goalkeeper in their squad, until former Socceroo Ante Covic joined the squad.
Kennedy became the Jets first-choice goalkeeper for the 2009–10 season thanks to some strong performances in the 2009 AFC Champions League, after the departure of Ante Covic to Sweden. However, he was criticised by his coach Branko Čulina for poor performances during the season and making mistakes that cost the Jets vital points.[1][2]
He was replaced as Newcastle's first choice keeper by Neil Young, due to impressive performances by the 30-year-old. Young was injured when he broke his nose and Kennedy came back into the team. Kennedy was the hero in the finals match against Gold Coast United, making crucial saves throughout the game and saving two penalties, in a game that Newcastle won 6–5.
Kennedy started the 2014–15 season as 2nd choice keeper to Mark Birighitti. He made his season debut in Round 8, and his no.1 spot was cemented when Mark Birighitti left temporarily due to a 6-month loan deal at Italian Serie B club A.S. Varese. In the Jet's Round 27 clash away to the Brisbane Roar, Kennedy produced a number of great saves to deny Brisbane going 5–0 up in the first half. Despite this, the Jets were downed 2–1 due to goals from Kofi Danning and Lachlan Jackson, but Kennedy's performance was rewarded with a place in the Team of the Week. Kennedy made a total of 84 saves, only being outnumbered by rival custodian Liam Reddy.
Central Coast Mariners
After 10 years at the Newcastle Jets, Kennedy joined their F3 Derby rivals Central Coast Mariners on a one-year deal in June 2017. He made his A-League debut for the Mariners in a 0–0 draw away to Brisbane Roar in November that year replacing the injured Tom Glover in the team. [3]
Career statistics
- As of 23 September 2014
CS = Clean Sheets
| Club | Season | League1 | Cup | International2 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | CS | Apps | CS | Apps | CS | Apps | CS | ||
| Newcastle Jets | 2006–07[4][5] | 14 | 3 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 20 | 4 |
| 2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008–09[6] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2009–10[4] | 21 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 21 | 3 | |
| 2010–11[4] | 26 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 6 | |
| 2011–12[4] | 24 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 5 | |
| 2012–13[4] | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013–14[4] | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 2 | |
| 2014–15[4] | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 3 | |
| 2015–16[4] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[4] | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 112 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 127 | 24 | |
| Central Coast Mariners | 2017–18[4] | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 5 |
| 2018–19[4] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | |
| Career total | 133 | 27 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 149 | 29 | |
1 – includes A-League final series statistics
2 – includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season closing during group stages (i.e. ACL 2009 and A-League season 2008–09 etc.)
References
- Leeson, Josh (19 October 2009). "Branko cranks up the heat on Jets | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au.
- Leeson, Josh (18 October 2009). "Culina lays blame on Kennedy for lost points | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au.
- "Kennedy defects to derby rivals". FourFourTwo. 22 June 2017.
- "Ben Kennedy (Newcastle Jets)". Ultimate A-League.
- "Ben Kennedy » Club matches". worldfootball.net.
- Ben Kennedy at Soccerway