Ayden Stuart Duffy (born 16 November 1986) is an English former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
.
He played as a professional in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for Lincoln City where he made five League appearances and was loaned out to a host of Non-League sides during his tenure at
Sincil Bank
Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...
which notably included a spell with
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...
Worksop Town
Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop.
History First clu ...
. Released in 2009, Duffy went on to play for
Corby Town
Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park.
History
The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...
,
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
,
Hyde United
Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Staveley Miners Welfare, Shepshed Dynamo,
Retford United
Retford United Football Club (also known as the Badgers) are an English football club based at Cannon Park in Retford, Nottinghamshire. They currently play in the .
History
The club was founded in 1987 by Retfordian Brian Jackson to give the ...
and
Histon
Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...
.
Career
Lincoln City
Duffy was born in
Kettering
Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...
but brought up in
Colsterworth
Colsterworth is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, less than half a mile (0.8 km) west of the A1, about south of Grantham, and north-west of Stamford. The village with the hamlet of Woolsthorp ...
. Involved with the Lincoln City academy, he signed a three-year scholarship with the club in the summer of 2003.
During his scholarship, Duffy spent a number of periods on work experience with local non-league sides. In November 2004, he linked up with Grantham Town, celebrating his 18th birthday by keeping a clean sheet on his Grantham debut. At the turn of the year he joined Bourne Town.
At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, he spent an eventful spell with
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.
. He produced a Man of the Match display, including a penalty save, against Newcastle Town in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
only for Newcastle to protest about his eligibility; the protest was unsuccessful. In the league game against Maltby Main he was beaten by a long punt from his opposite goalkeeper. In December 2005, he assisted Lincoln Moorlands. In January 2006, he joined Stamford. He stayed at Stamford before Lincoln recalled him, to enable him to link up with
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...
. He played twice for the Us, suffering an unfortunate debut when he palmed the ball into his own net against
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
. He was, however, offered support by the then Cambridge boss Rob Newman. He returned to Stamford, helping them to promotion to the Southern League Premier Division with a play-off victory against Wivenhoe Town.
In the summer of 2006, Duffy accepted a one-year professional contract with Lincoln City. His first season saw him spend time on loan at
Worksop Town
Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop.
History First clu ...
where a broken leg ended his season. He accepted a further one-year contract and on 12 April 2008 made his professional debut, replacing the injured Alan Marriott in the 2–1 victory against Chester City.
On 19 April 2008, he made his full home debut for Lincoln in a 3–1 victory over
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
. On 5 May 2009, he was released by Lincoln City.
Non-League
On 8 July 2009, Duffy signed for
Corby Town
Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park.
History
The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...
, but he was released a few weeks later. He moved on to join
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
on non-contract terms as cover for the injured
Phil Barnes
Philip Kenneth Barnes (born 2 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Barnes was active between 1996 and 2019, spending the his first thirteen seasons in professional football in a career that began ...
, appearing in the 2–2 friendly home draw with
Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...
on 1 August 2009, but was unable to play for the club in the
Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
as
The FA
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and ...
ruled that Corby Town still held his registration.
In September, he linked up with
Hyde United
Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Alfreton Town
Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street.
History
The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...
on 5 September 2009. He made a further appearance in Hyde's 1–1 home draw with Gloucester City two days later before departing the club to join Grantham Town. In February 2010, he moved to Lincoln Moorlands Railway. In September 2010, Duffy joined Sleaford Town on loan, debuting in the 3–0
United Counties Football League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''Uhlsport United Counties League'') is an English football league covering Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire and most of Leicestershire as well as parts of Buckinghamshi ...
Northern Counties East League
The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively.
History
Th ...
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
teacher and is joint head of enrichment at
Hills Road Sixth Form College
Hills Road Sixth Form College (commonly referred to as HRSFC, Hills Road or just Hills) is a public sector co-educational sixth form college in Cambridge, England, providing full-time A-level courses for approximately 2000 sixth form students fro ...