Matthew Eric Preston (born 16 March 1995) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional

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 le ...

who plays as a defender for

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

Club career

Walsall

Preston was captain of the Walsall youth team when he signed an 18-month professional contract with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

in January 2013. In January 2014 he joined up with Icelandic side ÍBV—managed by former Walsall player

Sigurður Ragnar Eyjólfsson Sigurður "Siggi" Ragnar Eyjólfsson (born 1 December 1973) is an Icelandic football manager and former player. He was a professional forward in England and Belgium. From 2007 until 2013 he served as the head coach of Iceland women's national ...

—on loan. He played in a 2–1 loss against

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan, commonly known as Stjarnan, is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær.and in the top 10 in the World and they have won the League ...

in a pre-season tournament, but was not taken on by ÍBV and subsequently returned to Walsall. After his brief spell in Iceland, Preston spent two-months on loan at

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

side

Barwell Barwell is a civil parish and large village in Leicestershire, England, with a population of 8,750 residents, Increasing to 9,022 at the 2011 census, the name literally translates as "Stream of the Boar" and is said to originate from a boar that ...

making twelve appearances and scoring one goal. He made his debut for the "Saddlers" in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

on 10 February 2015, coming on for

Michael Cain Michael Cain (born April 2, 1966) is a pianist and composer. Biography Cain attended several universities starting with the University of North Texas. Although initially a jazz major, he found that classical music was occupying more of his ...

89 minutes into a 3–2 victory over

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, also known as the Poundland Bescot Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Walsall, England, and the current home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989–90, by GMI Construction, with a reporte ...

. Preston's contract with Walsall expired at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Swindon Town

Following his release from Walsall, Preston joined

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

in September 2017, on a deal until the end of the campaign. On 30 September 2017, he made his Swindon debut during their 2–0 home victory against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

, featuring for the entire 90 minutes. A week later, Preston scored his first Swindon goal during their 2–1 away defeat against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

, netting the Robins' equaliser in the 53rd minute. On 31 October 2017, he went onto score the winner in Swindon's

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

tie against

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, netting in the 88th minute. During Swindon's 1–0 victory over

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

, Preston suffered a serious knee injury ruling him out for the remainder of the 2017–18 campaign.

Mansfield Town

On 29 May 2018, Preston reunited with former manager,

David Flitcroft David John Flitcroft (born 14 January 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the director of football at club Port Vale. His older brother is the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry ...

after rejecting a new three-year deal at Swindon. He was released by Mansfield at the end of the 2019–20 season.

Barnet

Preston signed for

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

on 1 October 2020. He left the club by mutual consent in July 2021 after 16 appearances.

Solihull Moors

Preston joined

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...

on a two-year deal on 20 July 2021.

Kidderminster Harriers (loan)

In January 2022, Preston joined National League North side

on a two-month loan deal. On 5 February 2022, he played in the Harriers’ 4th round FA Cup tie against Premier League side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, where he was awarded the BBC Man of the Match award by pundit

Dion Dublin Dion Dublin (born 22 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer, television presenter and pundit. He is a club director of Cambridge United. As a player he was a centre-forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchest ...

. Preston's loan spell was cut short on 19 February 2022, after receiving a serious ankle injury from a tackle against

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

. The match itself ended up being abandoned due to the injury.

Brackley Town (loan)

On 21 March 2023, Preston joined National League North side

Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St. James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...

to help with the promotion run. He helped Brackley Town all the way to the final before losing out to former side Kidderminster Harriers.

Kidderminster Harriers

Following his release from Solihull Moors, Preston began training with former side Kidderminster Harriers before penning a deal for the season ahead on 21 July 2023. https://harriers.co.uk/news/2023/07/21/matt-preston-returns/

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Matt 1995 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Walsall F.C. players Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja players Barwell F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Solihull Moors F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Northern Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands