Steven Saunders

Steven Saunders (born 30 March 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Partick Thistle.

Steven Saunders
Personal information
Full name Steven Saunders
Date of birth (1991-03-30) 30 March 1991
Place of birth Rutherglen, Scotland
Playing position(s) Centre back / Right back
Club information
Current team
 Partick Thistle
Number 43
Youth career
2007–2008 Queen's Park
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2013 Motherwell 56 (2)
2013–2015 Ross County 19 (1)
2015–2016 Dumbarton 25 (4)
2016–2018 The New Saints 39 (4)
2018–2019 Livingston 3 (0)
2019– Partick Thistle 28 (2)
National team‡
2009–2010 Scotland U19 3 (0[1])
2010–2012 Scotland U21 2 (0[2])
2010 Scotland 1 (0[2])
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:24, 9 February 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2010

Saunders has previously played for Motherwell, Ross County, Dumbarton, The New Saints and Livingston, and has also represented Scotland.

Club career

Motherwell

Saunders started his career with Motherwell. He made his debut as a substitute in a Scottish Premier League match against Aberdeen on 29 November 2008.[3] After the match, manager Mark McGhee said that he was "delighted" with Saunders' performance.[3] Saunders then started the following two games against Kilmarnock and Hamilton Academical, playing at right back, and he was again praised by McGhee for his performance in the first of those games.[4]

In the 2009–10 season, under new manager Jim Gannon, Saunders has established himself as a regular starter in his preferred position of centre back. He scored his first goal for the club on Saturday 24 April 2010 against Hearts.[5] Under Gannon's successor, Craig Brown, Saunders became a regular starter at right back.

On 10 August 2011, whilst playing for the Scotland under-21s, Saunders suffered an achilles tendon injury that ruled him out for most of the 2011–12 season.[6] On 8 April 2012, Saunders made his first-team comeback as a late substitute in a 1–1 draw against Hibernian.[7] Saunders was released by Motherwell at the end of the 2012–13 season, after another lengthy injury lay-off restricted him to just one further appearance.[8]

Ross County

On 8 July 2013, Saunders signed a one-year deal with Ross County.[9] He made his debut for the club on 3 August 2013, in a 2–1 defeat against Celtic in the opening game of the 2013–14 season.[10] On 17 November 2013, he scored his first Ross County goal against St Mirren, but he was then sent off later in the match.[11]

Saunders signed a new one-year contract with Ross County on 19 May 2014.[12] He was one of 14 players released by the club at the end of the season.[13]

Dumbarton

After being released by Ross County, Saunders signed a short-term contract with Scottish Championship side Dumbarton in September 2015.[14][15] He scored his first two goals for the club within two minutes of each other in a 3–3 draw with Raith on 21 November 2015.[16] He extended his deal until the end of the season in January 2016.[17]

The New Saints

Saunders signed a two-year deal with The New Saints on 8 June 2016, alongside Sons' teammate Jon Routledge.[18] He left the club in May 2018.[19]

Livingston

On 31 May 2018, Saunders signed a two-year deal with Livingston.[20] He only made five appearances for Livingston before departing in January 2019.[21]

Partick Thistle

Saunders signed an 18-month contract with Partick Thistle in January 2019.[21] Saunders chose the number 43 kit for Thistle.[22] He scored his first goal for Thistle in a 4–1 victory against Stranraer in the 2018–19 Scottish Cup.[23] Saunders scored his first league goal for The Jags opening the scoring in an eventual 2–1 home defeat to Dundee United in August 2019.[24]

International career

On 15 November 2010, Saunders was called up to the Scotland Squad for the first time, and made his debut the following evening in a 3–0 win over the Faroe Islands, replacing Phil Bardsley at right back in the 70th minute.[25]

Career statistics
As of 07:51, 6 June 2018 (UTC)
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Motherwell 2008–09 300000000030
2009–10 25110200040321
2010–11 25120300060361
2011–12 200000000020
2012–13 100000000010
Total 562305000100742
Ross County 2013–14 12110000000131
2014–15 700000000070
Total 19110000000201
Dumbarton 2015–16 25420000000274
The New Saints 2016–17 29430102110365
2017–18 10010000040150
Total 39440102150515
Livingston 2018–19 000000000000
Career total 13811100602115019212

Honours

The New Saints[26]

Individual

References
  1. Steven Saunders – A Squad, Scottish Football Association.
  2. Steven Saunders – A Squad, Scottish Football Association.
  3. McGhee points to positives, www.eatsleepsport.com, 1 December 2008.
  4. Saunders' debut is ray of light on dull night at Fir Park, Wishaw Press, 17 December 2008.
  5. "Hearts 0–2 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 24 April 2010.
  6. "Motherwell's Steven Saunders to miss rest of season". BBC Sport. 10 August 2011.
  7. "Hibernian 1 – 1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 8 April 2012.
  8. "Forthcoming squad changes". Motherwell FC. 20 May 2013.
  9. "Ross County sign ex-Motherwell defender Steven Saunders". BBC Sport. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  10. Crawford, Kenny (3 August 2013). "Celtic 2-1 Ross County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  11. "St Mirren 2-1 Ross County". BBC Sport. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  12. "Ross County duo sign new deals while Evangelos Oikonomou departs". STV Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  13. "Ross County to release 14 players at end of season". BBC Sport. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  14. "Steven Saunders signs short-term deal at Dumbarton". Scotsman. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  15. "Dumbarton Football Club – SAUNDERS SIGNS". dumbartonfootballclub.com.
  16. "Dumbarton 3-3 Raith Rovers". BBC Sport. 21 November 2015.
  17. "Dumbarton Football Club – SAUNDERS SIGNS NEW DEAL". dumbartonfootballclub.com.
  18. "Saints Sign Scottish Saunders". Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  19. "Rawlinson heads departures from Saints". Welsh Premier League. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  20. "Second new signing completed". Livingston F.C. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  21. "Partick Thistle sign Livingston defender Steven Saunders & Celtic keeper Conor Hazard on loan". BBC Sport. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  22. https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/signing-news-steven-saunders-is-a-jag/
  23. Idessane, Kheredine (19 January 2019). "Partick Thistle 4–1 Stranraer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  24. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49201585
  25. "Scotland 3–0 Faroe Islands". BBC Sport. 16 November 2010.
  26. Steven Saunders at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  27. "2016/17 Dafabet WPL Team of the Season". Welsh Premier League. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
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