Craig Sutherland

Craig Sutherland
Personal information
Full name Craig Stephen Sutherland[1]
Date of birth (1988-12-17) 17 December 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2006–2007 Spartans
2007–2009 Midwestern State University
2010 North Carolina State University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Blackpool 1 (0)
2011–2012 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 9 (1)
2013 Woking 0 (0)
2014 Queen's Park 4 (0)
2014–2015 Cowdenbeath 12 (1)
2015 Stenhousemuir 7 (1)
2015 East Fife 5 (1)
Total 44 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Craig Stephen Sutherland (born 17 December 1988) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career in the United States playing college soccer for Midwestern State University and North Carolina State University. Sutherland played 16 times in the Football League for Blackpool and Plymouth Argyle between 2011 and 2012. He has also played for Woking, Queen's Park, Cowdenbeath, Stenhousemuir and East Fife.

Career

Sutherland played for Spartans at youth level between 2006 and 2007 before moving to the United States to begin a soccer scholarship in Texas.[2]

Sutherland joined Blackpool on 26 July 2011 from North Carolina State University.[3] He made his debut on 5 August as a substitute in Blackpool's single-goal Championship victory at Hull City in the opening game of the 2011–12 Football League season.[4] His first start came six days later, in the first round of the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.[5]

On 16 November he joined League Two side Plymouth Argyle on loan for two months, joining teammate Paul Bignot, who had also signed on loan two weeks earlier.[6][7] His made his debut three days later in a 3–1 defeat away to Torquay United.

He went close to scoring his first senior goal in his third appearance for the Pilgrims, in a 1–1 draw with Bradford City at Valley Parade on 10 December.[8] A shot from Simon Walton took a deflection in the crowded penalty area and Sutherland was credited with the goal by the Press Association, however the deflection actually came off a Bradford defender. "Craig said he didn't touch it. It might have been one of the defenders, but, as far as I understand it, it's only an own goal if it is not on target, and it was going in," said Walton. "Craig said, while we were celebrating, 'It's your goal' so I'll take it."[9] The goal remained credited to Sutherland at the end of the season.

Sutherland returned to Blackpool at the end of January 2012,[10] having made nine appearances for Argyle.[11] He was released at the end of the 2012–13 season without making another first team appearance.

Sutherland then spent time on trial at Rangers[12] before signing for Woking.[13] In March 2014, Sutherland went on trial at Dundee.[12] After registration issues stopped him joining Dundee, he signed for Scottish League Two club Queen's Park until the end of the 2013–14 season.[14]

On 25 July 2014, Sutherland signed for Scottish Championship club Cowdenbeath.[15]

On 23 January 2015, Sutherland joined Stenhousemuir, signing a contract until the end of the 2014–15 season.[16] He was released by the club at the end of the season.[17]

Sutherland then signed for East Fife on 23 July 2015,[18] making eight appearances before leaving the club in October 2015.[19]

Personal life

Sutherland was born in Edinburgh.[20] After attending George Watson's College in Edinburgh, he moved to the United States in 2007 to begin a soccer scholarship at Midwestern State University.[21] He played for Great Britain in the 2009 Summer Universiade football tournament, held in Serbia.[22] In the opening group game he scored a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Mexico at the Omladinski Stadium, Belgrade. After two years at Midwestern he then moved to North Carolina State University, where he played for a further two years.[23]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals App Goals Apps Goals
Blackpool 2011–12[24] Championship 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2011–12[24] League Two 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1
Queen's Park 2013–14[25] Scottish League Two 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Cowdenbeath 2014–15[26] Scottish Championship 12 1 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 14 1
Stenhousemuir 2014–15[26] Scottish League One 7 1 0 0 0 0 1[b] 1 8 2
East Fife 2015–16[27] Scottish League Two 5 1 0 0 2 0 1[a] 0 8 1
Career total 44 4 1 0 3 0 3 1 51 5
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Scottish League Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in the Scottish League One play-offs

References

  1. ^ "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Scottish Youth Cup draw and first Spartans Youth Player to sign for an English Championship team". Spartans F.C. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Blackpool sign Angel Martinez & Craig Sutherland". BBC Sport. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Hull 0–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Sheffield Wednesday 0–0 Blackpool (4–2 penalties)". BBC Sport. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  6. ^ "Blackpool striker Craig Sutherland joins Argyle on loan". BBC Sport. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Sutherland makes Pilgrims move". Sky Sports. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Bradford 1–1 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Simon Scores". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Biggy Deal". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Craig Sutherland". GoS–DB. Greens on Screen. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  12. ^ a b Robertson, Neil (5 March 2014). "Paul Hartley eyes up former Blackpool frontman". The Courier. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  13. ^ Turner, Andy (27 October 2013). "Cards head out of the FA Cup". wokingfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Sutherland joins Queen's Park". SPFL. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  15. ^ "Beath Sign Former Blackpool Striker". Cowdenbeath F.C. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  16. ^ Bulloch, Terry (23 January 2015). "Player News". Stenhousemuir F.C. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  17. ^ Oliver, David (23 May 2015). "Faulds, Grehan and Watt out at Ochilview". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  18. ^ "EAST FIFE WELCOME CRAIG SUTHERLAND AND JASON KERR". East Fife F.C. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Sutherland leaves East Fife". Scottish Professional Football League. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  20. ^ "New Argyle signing Sutherland seeks productive debut". Western Morning News. 18 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  21. ^ "Craig Sutherland signs 2-year deal with Blackpool FC". First Point USA. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  22. ^ "Player Profile: Craig Sutherland". NC State Wolfpack. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  23. ^ Newport, Andy (7 July 2011). "Saints eye up trialist". Paisley Daily Express. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Games played by Craig Sutherland in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Games played by Craig Sutherland in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  26. ^ a b "Games played by Craig Sutherland in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Games played by Craig Sutherland in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2020.