Krystal Parker (born 28 October 1990) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

. She played for Blackburn Rovers Ladies and represented the senior

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

squad.

Club career

Parker began playing football at the age of six, soon joining

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

where she played mixed football before playing for their Under-10 girls' team. She joined the Stockport County Ladies' Centre of Excellence, progressing to their senior team, Parker joined Blackburn Rovers Ladies in the 2008 close season, as understudy to first-choice senior keeper

Danielle Hill Danielle Marie Hill (born 15 April 1988) is a retired English football goalkeeper and currently the goalkeeping coach for the Blackburn Rovers of the FA Women's Championship. She retired in 2020 after a spell with Blackburn Rovers. Hill briefly ...

. In only the second game of the 2008–09 season, Hill suffered

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...

damage against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, with Parker taking over for the remainder of the season. She also began the following season as Rovers' first choice, playing in the 1–1 draw with

Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...

on the opening day of the season. After signing for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, Parker lost her place in the team due to an injured finger.

International career

Parker was included in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

's 30-player provisional squad for the Under-20 Women's World Cup, just months after signing for Blackburn. Although later left on stand-by for the final squad, a month later she was asked to join the Under-23 squad's training camp. She was called into the senior

panel in October 2011. After playing in a friendly game against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, Parker said, "I'm very proud to have held recognition for both England and Ireland, but I'm very excited and look forward to helping and relishing the exciting challenges ahead with the Northern Ireland squad."

Statistics

References

English women's footballers Blackburn Rovers L.F.C. players 1990 births Living people FA Women's National League players Northern Ireland women's international footballers Women's association footballers from Northern Ireland Women's association football goalkeepers Aston Villa W.F.C. players Footballers from Oldham Stockport County L.F.C. players {{NorthernIreland-women-footy-bio-stub