Daniel Heffernan (born 25 May 1987) is an English

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 ...

who plays as a striker. He has previously played in England, Australia and Indonesia. In 2019, Heffernan returned to England and signed with Whalley Range FC

Career

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Heffernan started his career at Fletcher Moss Rangers, and played for several semi-professional and non-league English clubs before moving to Australia for a brief spell with Shepparton Soccer Club in the

North Eastern Soccer League Goulburn North East Football Association is an association football (soccer) competition in Shepparton, Victoria. It was known as the North Eastern Soccer League from the competition's inception in 1971 until February 2009. Between 2012 and 2014 t ...

. After returning to England, he travelled back to Australia as interest in his services became apparent from several Victorian National Premier League clubs, including

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...

and Green Gully. Heffernan would however sign with

Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...

and go on to score 50 league goals for the club, including 32 in the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2015

NPL Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer lea ...

seasons. Heffernan scored twice for Heidelberg during the

2015 FFA Cup The 2015 FFA Cup was the second season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams began competition in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including all 10 A-League teams, the reigning Nat ...

, once in their Round of 32 match against Broadmeadow Magic, and in the

Round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

clash against

Sydney United 58 Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but ...

, the latter in which he became the quickest goalscorer in the cup, scoring after just 26 seconds. Heffernan was also part of the Barlow R.C High School football side who became national school champions at Stamford Bridge.

First Professional Contract

Following his impressive performances for Heidelberg in the National Premier Leagues and FFA Cup, A-League club

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...

offered a trial by coach

Tony Walmsley Tony Walmsley is an Australian professional football coach who worked as Technical Director and Head Coach for A-League side Central Coast Mariners. Career Tony Walmsley started his coaching career in 1989 when he served as player/coach for R ...

. After impressing Walmsley with his performances, including a hat-trick in a

friendly game Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States ...

against fellow A-League club

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

, he was offered a 1-year contract. He made his professional debut for the club in their opening round loss of the 2015-16 A-League season against

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

. On 11 April 2016, after seven A-League appearances without a goal for the Mariners, Heffernan was released by the club. Heffernan signed for the Goulburn Valley Suns in May 2016. After a spell in Indonesia with

Bali United Bali United Football Club is a professional football club based in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Bali United emerged in 2015 as the result of the total rebranding of Indonesia ...

, he later returned to England and re signed for former club Abbey Hey.

References

External links

* Living people 1987 births Association football forwards English footballers Fletcher Moss Rangers F.C. players National Premier Leagues players A-League Men players Central Coast Mariners FC players Goulburn Valley Suns FC players Salford City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players New Mills A.F.C. players Abbey Hey F.C. players Bali United F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Indonesia Expatriate soccer players in Australia {{England-footy-forward-1980s-stub