On Saturday 20th September, the ESPFA hit a huge landmark of 100 first team involvements from former and current students at our partner clubs.
Former #ESPFADerbyshire student Findley Bowen made his first team debut for Mickleover FC on Saturday which took the tally to 81. #ESPFACheshire student Adam Moseley made the bench for Runcorn Linnets and former #ESPFAWestYorkshire student James Tetley also made the bench for Brighouse Town which took the first team call ups tally to 19.
The list of 100 students includes golden boot winners, player of the year, inter-league participants and professional graduates. Some of those include:
Yohan Rutty-Smith was the first ever ESPFA student to make their first team debut way back in November 2014 for Romulus against Sutton Coldfield Town in the league cup. Yohan played several times for Romulus and eventually became the first professional graduate moving to Notts County in 2015 adding another first to the programme in its infancy.
The fifth student to make their first team debut was Scott Taylor, who was the youngest ever player to play for Belper Town at the time, making his debut before he had even received his GCSE results.
Lewis Belgrave was the sixth student to make their first team debut. He won the NPLFA Player of the Year in the 2016/17 season.
Jordan Pierrepont was the 15th football graduate when making his debut for Matlock Town against Bedworth United in November 2016. Jordan has since gone on to represent several clubs at NPL level including Basford United and Sheffield FC.
Euan Woods became the 20th first team debutant after Warrington Town called him up for their county cup game against Tranmere Rovers. Euan had an excellent two years on the programme, winning two NPLFA Golden Boot awards during his time and representing the inter-league side against Oldham Athletic and Accrington Stanley.
Morgan Williams was the 22nd student to make their first team debut in April 2017 and since then has moved into the professional game, playing for Coventry City in League One and currently representing National League side Yeovil Town alongside Max Hunt who was the 27th student to make his first team debut and he also went on to make a move to a professional club. He moved to Derby County in 2017 and later went on to make appearances for Carlisle United in League Two as well as Aldershot Town and now partnering Morgan in defence at Yeovil Town.
The 32nd student to appear for their clubs first team was Leek Town’s Jessy Bavanganga. He has since gone on to make over 80 appearances for the Northern Premier League Division One West side earning rave reviews for his performances.
Another first team debutant to make a move to a professional club was football graduate #37 Ashton Hall. After making his debut for Matlock Town, he moved to Sheffield United in 2019 before moving to National League North side Guiseley AFC on loan. He now turns out for Grantham Town, in the Northern Premier League.
Dylan Fitzgerald became the 44th first team debutant when he played for Mossley AFC in March 2019. He scored a dramatic 92nd minute winner on his debut and later went on to make 25 appearances for the club, scoring three goals.
In November 2019, Josh Smith became the 53rd first team debutant and the first ever debutant from a Southern partner club when he was brought on as a second half substitute for Chesham United in their game against Newport Pagnell Town | Berks and Bucks FA Senior Cup.
The 74th student to make their first team debut was another #ESPFABuckinghamshire student representing Chesham United. Dan Hosier, the big shot stopper made an instant impact in his first team debut by saving a penalty. Since then, he has made multiple appearances for The Generals and was also invited to a trial at Colchester United.
Alfie Smith-Eccles was the 5th student to be called up to the bench for the first team, and although he never played for his partner club Matlock Town, he later went on to play for Alfreton Town in the National League North.
The 12th student to be called up to the bench was Jayden Bailey Hunter. He had an excellent time on the programme and won the golden boot and the ESPFA Player of the Year in the 2020/21 season and now plays for Newcastle Town in the Northern Premier League.
The 81 students to make their first team debut are:
#81 – FINDLEY BOWEN – MICKLEOVER
#80 – ETHAN MANN – MICKLEOVER
#79 – DAN FLINT – CARLTON TOWN
#78 -KAI MOORE - MICKLEOVER
#77 -SONNY SHAW - CARLTON TOWN
#76 -HARRY BICKERTON - LEEK TOWN
#75 -TOM SMITH - MICKLEOVER
#74 -DAN HOSIER - CHESHAM UNITED
#73 - SAM BREARLEY - BRIGHOUSE TOWN
#72 - LUKE JOHNSON - FROME TOWN
#71 - JUDE HILL - STAFFORD RANGERS
#70 - TAYLOR DRAPER - STAFFORD RANGERS
#69 - FINN BARKER - MICKLEOVER
#68 - LUCAS SCHWALBE-GOODWIN - FROME TOWN
#67 - CALLUM HARDMAN - RADCLIFFE
#66 - JOEY OLDHAM - RADCLIFFE
#65 - JACOB EDGE-LUCAS - MICKLEOVER
#64 - GEORGE ATWAL – MICKLEOVER
#63 - BOBBY BATTISSON - MICKLEOVER
#62 - LOUIS PENNINGTON - MICKLEOVER
#61 - MATTHEW JEFFERSON - WIDNES FC
#60 - TYLER WALKER - OSSETT UNITED
#59 - AIDEN CROFT - OSSETT UNITED
#58 - CARL CLARKSON - OSSETT UNITED
#57 - GERRARD TRAYNOR - SKELMERSDALE UNITED
#56 - BENJAMIN LEWIN - MICKLEOVER
#55 – JAMIE WHITE – BRIGHOUSE TOWN
#53 - JOSHUA SMITH - CHESHAM UNITED
#54 – AMIR HAJRI - WIDNES
#52 – JOSH SATCHWELL – MICKLEOVER
#51 – ETHAN STUBBS – STAFFORD RANGERS
#50 – RHYS MOSELEY - RADCLIFFE
#49 – STEFAN SORENSON – WITTON ALBION
#48 – JACK THATCHER - MICKLEOVER
#47 – MARCUS CALDERONE - MICKLEOVER
#46 – HARRY DUDLEY – BELPER TOWN
#45 – OWEN WYNNE – WITTON ALBION
#44 – DYLAN FITZGERALD - MOSSLEY
#43 – FINN PARKIN - MICKLEOVER
#42 – NATHAN CLARKE – MATLOCK TOWN
#41 – ETHAN KNOWLES – MATLOCK TOWN
#40 – JAKE SMITH – MICKLEOVER SPORTS
#39 – JACK HURD – LEEK TOWN
#38 – HARLEY KOZLUK – MICKLEOVER
#37 – ASHTON HALL – MATLOCK TOWN
#36 – THOMAS SPICE – CARLTON TOWN
#35 – BILLY WHITEHEAD – MATLOCK TOWN
#34 – JOSH HARRIS – CARLTON TOWN
#33 – JOE SHEEKEY – CARLTON TOWN
#32 – JESSY BAVANGANGA – LEEK TOWN
#31 – TOM HUTCHINSON – CARLTON TOWN
#30 – JACK WALSH – MICKLEOVER
#29 – BEN HARLEY – OSSETT ALBION
#28 – ARON MCGRATH – WARRINGTON TOWN
#27 – MAX HUNT – MATLOCK TOWN
#26 – TYREECE ROBINSON – MICKLEOVER
#25 – JOSH BULLOCK – BELPER TOWN
#24 – JOSH MORRIS – SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN
#23 – JORGE BLEMINGS – SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN
#22 – MORGAN WILLIAMS – MICKLEOVER
#21 – BILLY SILVESTER – KIDSGROVE ATHLETIC
#20 – EUAN WOODS – WARRINGTON TOWN
#19 – HARRY WOOD – MATLOCK TOWN
#18 – JORDAN GILHOOLEY – MICKLEOVER
#17 – JAKE DICKINSON – MICKLEOVER
#16 – JORDAN LEE – MATLOCK TOWN
#15 – JORDAN PIERREPONT – MATLOCK TOWN
#14 – BEN EDGSON – MATLOCK TOWN
#13 – REECE MAKELELE – RADCLIFFE BOROUGH
#12 – TYRON BUXTON – MICKLEOVER
#11 – JACK TOLLEY – MICKLEOVER
#10 – KIERAN CRONIN – MICKLEOVER
#9 – SAM DANIELS – RADCLIFFE BOROUGH
#8 – ADAM LEACH – RADCLIFFE BOROUGH
#7 – LEWIS BROWN – MATLOCK TOWN
#6 – LEWIS BELGRAVE – MICKLEOVER
#5 – SCOTT TAYLOR – BELPER TOWN
#4 – ADAM HENSHALL – RADCLIFFE BOROUGH
#3 – BEN OLDROYD – RADCLIFFE BOROUGH
#2 – DYLAN SHILCOCK – LEEK TOWN
#1 – YOHAN RUTTY-SMITH – ROMULUS
The 19 students to be called up to the first team are:
#19 – JAMES TETLEY – BRIGHOUSE TOWN
#18 – ADAM MOSELEY – RUNCORN LINNETS
#17 – LOGAN SHERIDAN – BRIGHOUSE TOWN
#16 – LIAM JONES – YATE TOWN
#15 – JACK COCKRAM – CARLTON TOWN
#14 – BLAAZE LAWRENCE – CHESHAM UNITED
#13 – ETHAN CLIFFORD – STAFFORD RANGERS
#12 – JAYDEN BAILEY HUNTER – STAFFORD RANGERS
#11 – ELLIOTT MURRAY – MICKLEOVER
#10 – SAM BOYALL – BELPER TOWN
#9 – ALEX PHILLIPSON – MATLOCK TOWN
#8 – CAMERON LEWARNE - RADCLIFFE
#7 – MAX BENNETT - MICKLEOVER
#6 – SAM WESTON – BELPER TOWN
#5 – ALFIE SMITH-ECCLES – MATLOCK TOWN
#4 – JOEL FLETCHER – RADCLIFFE
#3 – MICHAEL HERETY – RADCLIFFE
#2 – BECKHAM ADELAJE - MOSSLEY
#1 – MURTAZA HAIDARY – MICKLEOVER
Congratulations to all those students that have been called up to the first team of one of our partner clubs. It’s amazing to see the hard work you’ve put in over the years pay off and we are extremely proud.
To get in on the action and have the chance to follow in their footsteps sign up at www.espfa.co.uk/register.