Jacob Spoonley (born 3 March 1987) is a New Zealand

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 ...

currently playing for

Forrest Hill Milford Forrest Hill Milford United AFC was an amateur association football club from Forrest Hill, New Zealand. They last competed in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier 2020 season before they merged with Glenfield Rovers to form Northern Rovers. His ...

Football career

In 2005, Spoonley played for Auckland City for two seasons. He left to the

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

in 2007 after a successful Under 20 World Cup in Canada. He returned to

Auckland City FC Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League (New Zealand), Northern League. Auckland City have established the ...

in late 2008 as the no. 1 choice for goalkeeper. Since returning to City he has helped them win three O-League titles in four seasons and has made two appearances at the FIFA Club World Cup, including in the 2014 edition where he stepped in for regular goalkeeper Tamati Williams to play in the third-place playoff against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

, starring in a 4–2 shootout win after an initial 1–1 draw. In October 2012, Spoonley was loaned to Wellington Phoenix for one week due to both regular keepers (

Mark Paston Mark Nelson Paston (born 13 December 1976) is a New Zealand former Goalkeeper (association football), football goalkeeper who most recently played for the Wellington Phoenix FC, Wellington Phoenix in the A-League before announcing his retireme ...

and

Glen Moss Glen Robert Moss (born 19 January 1983) is a retired New Zealand goalkeeper who played for New Zealand at international level. A foundational member of both the New Zealand Knights and Wellington Phoenix, Moss has competed in 14 seasons of the ...

) being out on international duty. He played one game against

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...

, which was drawn 1–1. As a result of his performance he was voted as the goalkeeper in Fox Sports' team of the round.

International career

He was the 1st choice keeper for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's matches at the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Spoonley was included in the New Zealand squad for the football tournament at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He played in New Zealands 3 group matches against China (1–1), Brazil (0–5) and Belgium (0–1). He made his

senior debut on 19 November 2008 in a 2–0 loss to Fiji after coming on as a substitute following the sending off of

Broadcasting career

From 2021, he became the analyst with fellow former New Zealand defender,

Ivan Vicelich Ivan Robert Vicelich ( hr, Vicelić, ; ; born 3 September 1976) is a former New Zealand professional footballer who is currently assistant coach at Auckland City FC in the ASB Premiership. He is his country and Oceania's most-capped interna ...

. for Sky Sports as New Zealand build up to 2022 World Cup Qualification.

International goals and caps

New Zealand's goal tally first.

International career statistics

References

External links

*
Profile on the official Wellington Phoenix website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoonley, Jacob 1987 births Living people New Zealand association footballers New Zealand men's international footballers Olympic association footballers for New Zealand Men's association football goalkeepers Wellington Phoenix FC players Auckland City FC players A-League Men players New Zealand Football Championship players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2008 OFC Nations Cup players