Craig Stiens (born 31 July 1984, in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

footballer currently without a club. A former Wales under-19 international, he began his career with Leeds United before making his professional debut in The Football League during a loan spell at

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

in 2002.

Club career

Born in

, Stiens spent his early years with Leeds United. In December 2002, he joined his home town club, Division Three side

on loan for the remainder of the 2002–03 season. He made his debut for the club two days after signing, coming on as a substitute in place of

Jamie Wood Jamie Wood (born 21 September 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was born in Salford, England and started his career as a youth player at Manchester United. Wood has represented the Cayman Islands internatio ...

during a 1–0 defeat to Exeter City on 14 December 2002. He made two more substitute appearances for the club in consecutive 1–0 defeats to Leyton Orient and Bristol Rovers but, despite spending a further five months on loan at

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at ...

, he did not make another league appearance before returning to Leeds. He spent a further six months at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

before being allowed to leave in January 2004 to sign for

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

side

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

, making a goalscoring debut in a 3–0 win over Welling United. The following year, in his first full season with the club, he finished as the club's top scorer with 22 league goals as they reached the play-offs. In May 2009, with Merthyr in financial difficulties, Stiens joined Welsh Premier League

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

, along with Merthyr teammates Matthew Harris and Ashley Evans, ahead of the club turning professional for the 2009–10 season. He scored 14 times in 31 league games as Neath finished in 9th place. At the end of the year, Stiens decided to return to Merthyr Town.

International career

On 17 October 2000, Stiens made his debut for the Wales under-19 side at the age of just 16 when he replaced

James Collins James, Jim, Jimmy, or Jamie Collins may refer to: Sports Association football * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born 1872) (1872–1900), Scottish footballer * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born 1895), Scottish footballer * Jimmy Collins (footballer, born ...

during a 1–0 defeat to Slovakia. He went on to win a further seven caps in the following three years, his only goal coming during an 8–2 win over Faroe Islands on 9 August 2001.

References

External links

*
Welsh Premier profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stiens, Craig 1984 births Living people Footballers from Swansea Welsh men's footballers Leeds United F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players English Football League players Cymru Premier players Merthyr Town F.C. players Men's association football forwards