Steven Allan Masterton (born 2 January 1985) is a Scottish
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 ...
Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region
The Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region was one of three regions of the SJFA which organised its own distinct league and cup competitions. The SJFA used to be split into six regions, but in 2002 they took the decision to reform into t ...
side
Hurlford United
Hurlford United Football Club are a Scottish Association football, football club based in Hurlford, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Nicknamed ''The Ford'', they were formed in 1912 and play at Blair Park, wearing red and white. They currently play i ...
.
Career
Kilmarnock
Masterton began his career at
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, but didn't play for the senior team. He played in the Scottish Youth Cup winning team of 2004. Killie won 1–0 against
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
Neil McGregor
Neil McGregor (born 17 July 1985, in Irvine), is a Scottish football defender who has previously played in the Scottish Premier League for Dundee.
Career
McGregor began his career with Kilmarnock. He played in the Scottish Youth Cup wi ...
and
Steven Naismith
Steven John Naismith (born 14 September 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is football development manager at Scottish club Heart of Midlothian.
Naismith began his career with Kilmarnock in 2004. He spent four years with th ...
(all three played in the final) were promoted to the first team squad shortly afterwards.
Clyde
Masterton signed for Clyde in the summer of 2005, and made his début as a substitute in a
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Brechin City. Masterton became a fringe player in his first few months at Clyde, but got a regular place in the team, filling in for long-term injury victim Paul McHale. Masterton played against
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...
during Clyde's famous win over
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in the Scottish Cup, in January 2006.
Masterton is somewhat of a dead-ball expert, and the majority of his goals come direct from free kicks. He was Clyde's second top scorer in season 2006–07, scoring 8 goals.
At the end of season 2007–08 during Clyde's Scottish First Division semi final play-off first leg match at Alloa Athletic, Masterton scored what proved to be a vital. In a 2–1 defeat, he scored the equaliser with a trademark free kick just after the hour mark . Clyde went on to win 6–5 on aggregate.
Greenock Morton
On 16 May 2008, Masterton agreed to join First Division rivals Greenock Morton.
'Masty' scored his first goal for Morton in a 3–0 Challenge Cup win over Jim McInally's East Stirlingshire before doubling his Morton tally with a 25-yard free-kick in a 4–3 cup shock victory over
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
side Hibernian. He continued his cup goal scoring exploits with the opener against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup loss at Balmoor, before opening his league tally with the equaliser first half free-kick at
Cappielow
Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, w ...
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
side
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
on a one-year deal.
In the January 2011 transfer window, Masterton was loaned out to Eastbourne Borough.
Auchinleck Talbot
After his release by Crawley, Masterton signed for
Auchinleck Talbot
Auchinleck Talbot Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire. They currently play in the .
The club is also a member of the Scottish Junior Football Association, and have won the Scottish Junior Cup on a reco ...
on an amateur contract, to allow to sign for a senior side if one offered him terms.
Alloa Athletic
After one match in the
Juniors
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
, Masterton was offered a contract until December with Alloa Athletic in the
Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
. He made his début in the Scottish Cup draw with Annan Athletic, and he scored the final goal of the match ten minutes after replacing another ex-Morton midfielder, Darren Young.
Return to Clyde
In August 2012, Masterton made his second début for Clyde as a trialist during the club's opening league game of the season at Montrose winning 3–2. Following two more appearances for the club as a trialist he signed a short-term deal with Clyde until the end of 2012. On 10 November 2012, Masterton left the club by mutual consent after he injured himself in a Scottish cup game with Nairn County, The Clyde website said he was suffering with groin problems.
Hurlford United
Hurlford United Football Club are a Scottish Association football, football club based in Hurlford, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Nicknamed ''The Ford'', they were formed in 1912 and play at Blair Park, wearing red and white. They currently play i ...
by Manager Derek McCulloch in February 2013.
Under long-term Chairman Lorimer Headley and Manager Del McCulloch, Hurlford won the SJFA West Super League First Division to win promotion to the West Super League Premier Division for the first time in their history.
In the 2013–14 season, Masterton was a key player as Hurlford not only kept their place in the Super Premier with a strong 3rd-place finish, but also won the Scottish Junior Cup for the first time, beating East Ayrshire rivals Glenafton Athletic 3–0 in the final at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock. This meant the club entered the senior Scottish Cup, a great feat for the small community of Hurlford, but almost even more remarkable, as local amateur team Hurlford Thistle also won the Scottish Amateur Cup in 2014. In the 2014–15 Scottish Cup, 'Ford overcame away ties against Highland League opponents Clachnacuddin (7–1) and Inverurie Loco Works (3–0), then took Scottish League One club Stirling Albion to a replay, extra time and a penalty shootout, which was eventually lost 13–12.
Masterton was forced to retire from the game at the age of 29 after a succession of injuries.