Craig Nelson (born 28 May 1971, in

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as ...

) is a Scottish former football

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 ...

who last played for

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...

. He is currently the goalkeeping coach of the club. Nelson began his career with

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

before moving to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to join

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

in January 1991. He returned to Scotland four months later and went on to make 90 league appearances for Thistle before moving to Heart of Midlothian. He stayed at Tynecastle for two seasons (making 24 league appearances) but left to sign for

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

. He remained there for a further two season before moving on to

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

where he became a stalwart in the

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United. H ...

side, making 150 appearances in his five seasons there. This included playing in the Scottish League Cup 2002 final, which Ayr lost to Rangers 4–0. In 2003, he joined

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

on a free transfer and made 8 appearances before moving to

on loan in 2004. He made the move permanent a year later and stayed for the next nine seasons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Craig 1971 births Living people Footballers from Coatbridge Scottish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Partick Thistle F.C. players Cork City F.C. players League of Ireland players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Scotland men's B international footballers Ashfield F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Scottish Junior Football Association players