Derrick Williams (footballer)

Derrick Williams
Personal information
Full nameDerrick Williams
Date of birth17 January 1993[1]
Place of birthGermany
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing positionLeft back
Club information
Current team
Bristol City
Number3
Youth career
2009–2012Aston Villa
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2012–2013Aston Villa1(0)
2013–Bristol City85(3)
National team
2011–2012Republic of Ireland U198(0)
2012–2013Republic of Ireland U216(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:37, 23 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 October 2013

Derrick Williams (born 17 January 1993) is a footballer who plays for Bristol City as a defender and is a Republic of Ireland under-21 international.

Club career

Aston Villa

After being spotted playing for local side AFC Tramore, Williams had trials for both Aston Villa and Manchester United, before signing for Villa in January 2009. Following a number of injuries to Alex McLeish's first team squad in the latter stages of the 2011–12 season, the versatile defender was brought in to train with the first team on a number of occasions. His first competitive involvement with the first team saw him earn a place on the bench for the defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea, and the draw with Liverpool.

Williams made his first-team debut under Paul Lambert, as a substitute in Villa's 1–1 Premier League draw against Queens Park Rangers on 1 December 2012.[2] Williams played a part in the Aston Villa Under-19s' successful NextGen Series 2012–13 campaign.

Bristol City

After struggling to make it into the Aston Villa first team, Williams signed for Bristol City, newly relegated to League One, on a three-year contract on 24 June 2013.[2]

Williams made his debut in a 2–0 away win at Gillingham in the League Cup on 6 August,[3] and continued to solidify his place in the line up, starting almost every league game for City that season. His first professional goal came on 15 February 2014, in a 2–2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers.[3]

Bristol City started the 2014–15 League One season with a 16-game unbeaten run,[4] a club record, and the second longest unbeaten run in the country at the time, only behind Chelsea.[4] Williams was a key fixture in this run, starting every game. His first goal of the season came in this run, in a 3–2 home win over Chesterfield on 11 October, and his second was scored in a Football League Trophy win over Coventry City in early December.[5] Williams was sent off for the first time in his career in a 1–0 away defeat at the hands of Crewe Alexandra, forcing him to miss the following game.[5] After returning from his one-match ban, Williams continued to feature on the left of City's three man defence, alongside Aden Flint and Luke Ayling. Williams played in the Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium on 22 March 2015, a game in which City beat Walsall 2–-0, becoming the only side to have won the competition three times.[6] He was a regular in the City side that confirmed promotion to the Championship with three games of the season still to go.[7]

International career

Williams was born in Germany in 1993, while his American-born father was serving in the Army.[8] A year later, the family relocated to North Carolina, before moving to County Waterford in 2000. Therefore Williams is eligible to play for Germany, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland. In February 2011, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team against Croatia U19, before going onto play in three of Ireland's four fixtures of the UEFA Under-19 Championships later that year. On 10 September 2012, Williams made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, in a 4–2 victory over Italy U21.

Honours

Aston Villa U19

Bristol City

Career statistics

As of match played 18 April 2015
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Aston Villa 2012–13[9] Premier League10000010
Bristol City 2013–14[3] League One431203000481
2014–15[5] League One42240106[lower-alpha 1]1533
Total 8536040611014
Career total 8636040611024
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Derrick Williams Bio, Stats, News". ESPN FC. ESPN Internet Ventures. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Derrick Williams: Bristol City sign Aston Villa defender". BBC Sport. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kempson, Russell (15 November 2014). "Swindon's Michael Smith ends 10-man Bristol City's unbeaten run". The Observer. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  6. Chapman, Caroline (22 March 2015). "Bristol City 2–0 Walsall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  7. Mitchell, Brendon (15 April 2015). "Marlon Pack: Bristol City promotion 'hard to take in'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. "Williams out to match Dunne's Euro exploits". Irish Independent. 20 July 2011.
  9. "Games played by Derrick Williams in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

External links