Palace released him after his first season at the club and on 22 August 1997 he signed for Scunthorpe United.[1][2] Evans played for Scunthorpe in their 1–0 victory over Leyton Orient in the 1999 Third Division play-off final at Wembley Stadium.[4] He had surgery on a hand injury in May 2005, having suffered a problem with one of his knuckles on his index finger that had troubled him in previous seasons.[5] This operation led to him missing the first two months of the season, but returned to the line-up in early December.[1] He kept his place in the team for three months and after another spell on the sidelines he played in Scunthorpe's last six matches of the season.[1]
York City
He was released by Scunthorpe in May 2006 and joined Conference National club York City on 31 July after making a good impression on manager Billy McEwan during several weeks on trial.[6][7] He said that he believed promotion could be achieved for York with 20 clean sheets.[8] He was sent off in the 16th minute of an away match against Crawley Town on 9 September 2006 after fouling Dannie Bulman outside the penalty area, which York lost 3–0 with second choice goalkeeper Arran Reid brought on to replace him.[9] He was offered a new contract by York at the end of 2006–07.[10]
At the beginning of York's 2007–08 season, Evans came under-fire for poor performances by his manager, Billy McEwan and was later replaced by on-loan Bristol City goalkeeper Stephen Henderson.[11][12] Evans kept his place in the side after Henderson's recall back to Bristol City but was released at the end of the season.[13][14]
Later career
He signed for Alfreton Town in the Conference North in July 2008.[15] Evans found himself dropped from the Alfreton team at the beginning of December 2008 and in March 2009 Evans joined Gainsborough Trinity on a one-month loan, debuting in 1–1 away draw with Redditch United on 21 March 2009.[16] At Gainsborough, he made four appearances.[17] He finished 2008–09 with 24 appearances with Alfreton and he was released by the club,[18][19] after which he joined Northern Premier League Premier Division team Boston United on 23 July 2009.[20] He was released by Boston on 9 May 2010 after helping them win promotion to the Conference North after beating Bradford Park Avenue 2–1 in the 2010 Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off final.[21][22] He later returned to former club Scunthorpe to coach the youth team's goalkeepers.[23]
International career
Evans played Northern Ireland at youth level and won his only cap for the Northern Ireland B team in a 2–1 defeat to Scotland on 20 May 2003.[3]
Personal life
After retiring from professional football, Evans earned qualifications as a financial adviser and worked for Lloyds Bank before joining Paul Kerr Associates, the organisation of former player Paul Kerr.[24] He has a son called Bobby and a daughter called Molly
Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition