Matt Preston (footballer)

Matthew Eric Preston (born 16 March 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Mansfield Town.

Matt Preston
Personal information
Full name Matthew Eric Preston[1]
Date of birth (1995-03-16) 16 March 1995[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Mansfield Town
Number 4
Youth career
0000–2014 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Walsall 41 (3)
2014 → ÍBV (loan) 0 (0)
2014 → Barwell (loan) 12 (1)
2017–2018 Swindon Town 21 (2)
2018– Mansfield Town 39 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:52, 16 May 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Walsall

Preston was captain of the Walsall youth team when he signed an 18-month professional contract with Walsall in January 2013.[3]

In January 2014 he joined up with Icelandic side ÍBV—managed by former Walsall player Sigurður Ragnar Eyjólfsson—on loan.[4] He played in a 2–1 loss against Stjarnan in a pre-season tournament, but was not taken on by ÍBV and subsequently returned to Walsall.[5] After his brief spell in Iceland, Preston spent two-months on loan at Northern Premier League side Barwell making twelve appearances and scoring one goal.[6][7] He made his debut for the "Saddlers" in the Football League on 10 February 2015, coming on for Michael Cain 89 minutes into a 3–2 victory over Rochdale at the Bescot Stadium.[8]

Preston's contract with Walsall expired at the end of the 2016–17 season.[9]

Swindon Town

Following his release from Walsall, Preston joined Swindon Town in September 2017, on a deal until the end of the campaign.[10]

On 30 September 2017, he made his Swindon debut during their 2–0 home victory against Cambridge United, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[11] A week later, Preston scored his first Swindon goal during their 2–1 away defeat against Cheltenham Town, netting the Robins' equaliser in the 53rd minute.[12] On 31 October 2017, he went onto score the winner in Swindon's EFL Trophy tie against Wycombe Wanderers, netting in the 88th minute.[13] During Swindon's 1–0 victory over Mansfield Town, Preston suffered a serious knee injury ruling him out for the remainder of the 2017–18 campaign.[14]

Mansfield Town

On 29 May 2018, Preston reunited with former manager, David Flitcroft at Mansfield Town[15] after rejecting a new three-year deal at Swindon.[16]

Career statistics
As of match played 4 May 2019
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 2014–15[17] League One 1000000010
2015–16[18] League One 10210101[lower-alpha 1]0132
2016–17[19] League One 30110104[lower-alpha 1]0361
Total 413202050503
Barwell (loan) 2013–14[20] Northern Premier League Premier Division 12100—00121
Swindon Town 2017–18[21] League Two 21220003[lower-alpha 1]1263
Mansfield Town 2018–19 League Two 393200040453
Career total 113960201211337
  1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  2. "Matt Preston". 11v11. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. "Matt Preston surprised to sign pro deal at Walsall FC". Express & Star. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. Magnús Már Einarsson (8 January 2014). "Þrír frá Walsall með ÍBV í Fótbolta.net mótinu" [Three from Walsall with ÍBV in Fótbolti.net tournament] (in Icelandic). Fótbolti.net. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  5. Hafliði Breiðfjörð (11 January 2014). "Siggi Raggi: Möguleiki að skoða fleiri leikmenn Walsall" [Siggi Raggi: A possibility of taking a look at more Walsall players] (in Icelandic). Fótbolti.net. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. Poole, Andrew (20 February 2014). "Emerging central defender links up with Barwell..." saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  7. "Matt Preston Central Defender". Pitchero: Barwell. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. "Walsall 3–2 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  9. "Jon Whitney: No guarantees Matt Preston will sign with Saddlers". Express & Star. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  10. "BREAKING: Town Bring In Preston". Swindon Town Official Site. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  11. "Swindon Town 2-0 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  12. "Cheltenham Town 2-1 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  13. "Swindon Town vs. Wycombe Wanderers". Soccerway. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  14. "Preston Out For The Season". Swindon Town Official Site. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  15. "Stags strengthen defence with new signing". Mansfield Town Official Site. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  16. "Luke Norris: Swindon Town extend striker's contract". BBC Sport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  18. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  19. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  20. "Matt Preston". Barwell Official Site. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  21. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
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