Matt Preston (footballer)

Matthew Eric Preston (born 16 March 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Barnet.

Matt Preston
Personal information
Full name Matthew Eric Preston[1]
Date of birth (1995-03-16) 16 March 1995[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Barnet
Number 5
Youth career
0000–2014 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Walsall 41 (3)
2014 → ÍBV (loan) 0 (0)
2014 → Barwell (loan) 12 (1)
2017–2018 Swindon Town 21 (2)
2018–2020 Mansfield Town 61 (4)
2020– Barnet 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:57, 11 October 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Walsall

Preston was captain of the Walsall youth team when he signed an 18-month professional contract with Walsall in January 2013.[3]

In January 2014 he joined up with Icelandic side ÍBV—managed by former Walsall player Sigurður Ragnar Eyjólfsson—on loan.[4] He played in a 2–1 loss against Stjarnan in a pre-season tournament, but was not taken on by ÍBV and subsequently returned to Walsall.[5] After his brief spell in Iceland, Preston spent two-months on loan at Northern Premier League side Barwell making twelve appearances and scoring one goal.[6][7] He made his debut for the "Saddlers" in the Football League on 10 February 2015, coming on for Michael Cain 89 minutes into a 3–2 victory over Rochdale at the Bescot Stadium.[8]

Preston's contract with Walsall expired at the end of the 2016–17 season.[9]

Swindon Town

Following his release from Walsall, Preston joined Swindon Town in September 2017, on a deal until the end of the campaign.[10]

On 30 September 2017, he made his Swindon debut during their 2–0 home victory against Cambridge United, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[11] A week later, Preston scored his first Swindon goal during their 2–1 away defeat against Cheltenham Town, netting the Robins' equaliser in the 53rd minute.[12] On 31 October 2017, he went onto score the winner in Swindon's EFL Trophy tie against Wycombe Wanderers, netting in the 88th minute.[13] During Swindon's 1–0 victory over Mansfield Town, Preston suffered a serious knee injury ruling him out for the remainder of the 2017–18 campaign.[14]

Mansfield Town

On 29 May 2018, Preston reunited with former manager, David Flitcroft at Mansfield Town[15] after rejecting a new three-year deal at Swindon.[16] He was released by Mansfield at the end of the 2019–20 season.[17]

Barnet

Preston signed for Barnet on 1 October 2020.[18]

Career statistics
As of match played 15 February 2020
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 2014–15[19] League One 1000000010
2015–16[20] League One 10210101[lower-alpha 1]0132
2016–17[21] League One 30110104[lower-alpha 1]0361
Total 413202050503
Barwell (loan) 2013–14[22] Northern Premier League Premier Division 12100—00121
Swindon Town 2017–18[23] League Two 21220003[lower-alpha 1]1263
Mansfield Town 2018–19 League Two 393200040453
2019–20 League Two 221200030271
Total 614400070724
Barnet 2020–21 National League 0000000000
Career total 1351080201511578
  1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  2. "Matt Preston". 11v11. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. "Matt Preston surprised to sign pro deal at Walsall FC". Express & Star. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. Magnús Már Einarsson (8 January 2014). "Þrír frá Walsall með ÍBV í Fótbolta.net mótinu" [Three from Walsall with ÍBV in Fótbolti.net tournament] (in Icelandic). Fótbolti.net. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  5. Hafliði Breiðfjörð (11 January 2014). "Siggi Raggi: Möguleiki að skoða fleiri leikmenn Walsall" [Siggi Raggi: A possibility of taking a look at more Walsall players] (in Icelandic). Fótbolti.net. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. Poole, Andrew (20 February 2014). "Emerging central defender links up with Barwell..." saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  7. "Matt Preston Central Defender". Pitchero: Barwell. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. "Walsall 3–2 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  9. "Jon Whitney: No guarantees Matt Preston will sign with Saddlers". Express & Star. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  10. "BREAKING: Town Bring In Preston". Swindon Town Official Site. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  11. "Swindon Town 2-0 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  12. "Cheltenham Town 2-1 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  13. "Swindon Town vs. Wycombe Wanderers". Soccerway. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  14. "Preston Out For The Season". Swindon Town Official Site. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  15. "Stags strengthen defence with new signing". Mansfield Town Official Site. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  16. "Luke Norris: Swindon Town extend striker's contract". BBC Sport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. "Mansfield Town announce retained list". Mansfield Town F.C. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  18. "Welcome to Barnet, Matt Preston". www.barnetfc.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  19. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  20. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  21. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  22. "Matt Preston". Barwell Official Site. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  23. "Games played by Matt Preston in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
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