Matthew Thomas Crowell (born 3 July 1984) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

retired

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 last played for

NSW Premier League The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...

side

Central Coast Mariners Academy The Central Coast Mariners Academy (CCMA) is the youth system of Central Coast Mariners FC based in , Australia. The academy teams play the Y-League and the National Premier Leagues, the highest level of youth football in Australia. Senior p ...

Club career

Southampton

Born in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, Crowell grew up in

Coychurch Coychurch ( cy, Llangrallo) is a small village that sits between Pencoed and Bridgend in Wales, bordering with Bridgend Industrial Estate, where many residents are employed. It is part of the community of Coychurch Lower. History The village has ...

. As a teenager he was part of the youth system at

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

before being persuaded to follow Swansea youth coach Malcolm Elias to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at the age of 16 in 2000. Swansea took the case to the Football League appeals committee seeking compensation of £1.5 million. The committee later ordered Southampton to make an immediate payment of £100,000 to Swansea, as well as a further £100,000 when Crowell had made 10, 20, 30 and 40 appearances in the future and 20% of any future transfer fee that the club received for Crowell. Swansea chairman Neil McClure later stated "''£500,000 is significantly more than Southampton ever offered at any stage and that must be regarded as satisfactory''" However, Crowell never made a first team appearance at Southampton and was released in 2003.

Wrexham

After spending time on trial with Bristol Rovers, Crowell later joined

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, having impressed in a trial spell, and made his professional debut for the club on 9 August 2003 as a substitute in place of Steve Thomas during a 0–0 draw with

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. In his third season at the Racecourse Ground he made six appearances in the club's

Football League 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 Leag ...

victory, beating Southend United 2–0 in the final. However, he later found himself plagued with injuries in his later years at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C. It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home i ...

and, after playing on a six-month contract with the Welsh side in an attempt to show his fitness, he was released in January 2008 having made over 100 appearances for the club.

Non-league

In January 2008, Crowell signed for

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

on non-contract terms. In July 2009, Crowell left Northwich. He attended a trial with

side

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football, soccer club, based in Belmore, New South Wales, Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan- ...

, but later returned to Britain to sign for

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

on a short-term contract, stating that "''It was hard at Northwich last season with the club's difficulties but I am pleased to join Altrincham''".

Central Coast Mariners

In September 2009, Crowell joined A-League team

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

on a one-year deal until the end of the 2009–10 season. He made 13 appearances for the club before returning to England.

Return to Non-league

He then rejoined Altrincham before in December 2010

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

announced that he had joined them, apparently on non-contract terms. He left the club after only two appearances.

Port Talbot Town

In May 2011, Crowell had a two-week trial with China's Chengdu Blades before he joined Welsh Premier League club

Port Talbot Town Port Talbot Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Port Talbot) is a Welsh association football, football club from Port Talbot. It was founded in 1901 as Port Talbot Athletic, one of the first clubs in the country. The club plays in the Arda ...

in July 2011 after a trial. He played all of the club's league games prior to his next move.

CD Ourense

He signed a full-time contract with Spanish club

CD Ourense Club Deportivo Ourense, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1952 after the dissolution of old UD Orensana, it played in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at ...

in September 2011 where he made 20 appearances for the club.

Return to Port Talbot Town

In July 2012 Crowell returned to Wales and his former club Port Talbot Town ahead of the 2012/13 Welsh Premier League season. Crowell's first goal in his second spell at the club came in a 5–0 win away at Aberystwyth FC where he scored a penalty.

Central Coast Mariners Academy

In March 2013 Crowell signed for the

, feeder seed for

Central Coast Mariners FC Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

where he had a previous stint in the 2009–10 season.

Retirement

Crowell retired from professional football in August 2019

International career

A former captain of the Wales under-15 side, Crowell later went on to represent Wales at under-17 and under-19 levels. He has also played numerous times for the Wales U21 side and has also scored a screamer with his left foot for the side, against Azerbaijan U21 in 2004.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Central Coast Mariners profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowell, Matt 1984 births Living people Footballers from Bridgend Welsh men's footballers Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Southampton F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Central Coast Mariners Academy players English Football League players National League (English football) players A-League Men players Central Coast Mariners FC players National Premier Leagues players Men's association football midfielders