Andrew Waterworth

Andrew Waterworth
Personal information
Full name Andrew Waterworth
Date of birth (1986-04-11) 11 April 1986
Place of birth Crossgar, Northern Ireland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Linfield
Number 7
Youth career
Kilmore Recreation
2002–2004 Glentoran
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Ards 59 (12)
2004 → Kilmore Recreation (loan) ? (?)
2006–2008 Lisburn Distillery 38 (18)
2008 Hamilton Academical 10 (1)
2008–2013 Glentoran 146 (44)
2013– Linfield 137 (75)
National team‡
2006–2007 Northern Ireland U21 7 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 April 2017.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 Feb 2008

Andrew 'Andy' Waterworth (born 11 April 1986) is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays as a forward for Linfield.

Career

Early years

Waterworth was always a keen footballer and regularly enjoyed a kick-about with his mates in his hometown of Crossgar. He is the grandson of former Glentoran defender and captain Noel McCarthy. Waterworth grew up as a Manchester United fan and his idol was Eric Cantona. His first experiences of competitive football was in the Crossgar Youth League where, where even at an early age he excelled in football and won player of the year on a few occasions.

At the age of 7 he was playing for Crossgar U10's and was soon a key player for the talented side. At the age of 9 he was regularly playing on a Saturday for the U12's and a Sunday for the U10's, he started his career at Kilmore Rec 1sts where he played from the age of sixteen once scoring seven goals in one match. At the age of 17 he was signed by Glentoran but never really lived up to his potential and eventually moved to Ards. After a promising start injuries got the better of him and he struggled to regain his form.

Lisburn Distillery

Waterworth was snapped up by the Whites boss Paul Kirk who saw great potential in the young striker. Waterworth repaid the faith Kirk showed in him by putting in a number of man of the match performances and scoring a number of goals. During his time at the Whites he was called up to the Northern Ireland U21 side and again put in a number of solid performances for them. After reportedly being scouted by a number of clubs including Aberdeen he eventually signed for Hamilton Academical.

Hamilton Academical FC

Waterworth joined Hamilton from Lisburn Distillery in January 2008 for a fee of £20,000.[1] He made his debut against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup in February.[2]

He scored his first goal for Hamilton against Dundee in April 2008.[3]

Return to Glentoran

After a short and somewhat unsuccessful period at Hamilton, Waterworth re-signed for Glentoran just like his grandfather 60 years ago, after much interest from Derry City and Linfield. The fee was believed to be in the region of £35,000. For several seasons Waterworth was neither here nor there for Glentoran, however many of the fans recognised his potential due to his blistering pace and good finishing. Whenever Eddie Patterson took over to manage the team, Waterworth proved his worth scoring 6 goals in the opening 5 games of the 2011-2012 season. Waterworth agreed a new contract at the end of the 2010–11 season keeping him at the club for another 2 years.

Waterworth scored twice for Glentoran in the 2012–13 Irish Cup final to defeat Cliftonville 3–1 after extra time. In a press interview afterwards, Waterworth said he was unsure whether he would be leaving the Glens at the end of the season or not. Manager Eddie Patterson said he would do everything to keep Waterworth for the 2013–14 season. However, it was soon announced that Waterworth had agreed personal terms with Glentoran's biggest rivals Linfield.

Linfield

On 9 May 2013, Glentoran announced on their website that Waterworth would not be signing a new contract. Soon after this Linfield confirmed that they had signed him on a two-year contract.[4] On his Linfield debut, Waterworth broke a bone in his leg which side-lined the striker for two months. However, he eventually made his league debut for Linfield on 14 September 2013, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Ballymena United at Windsor Park, and went on to score 11 goals in his first eleven league appearances to put his side top the table.[5] His first trophy with the Blues arrived in the form of the 2013–14 County Antrim Shield, after a penalty shoot-out victory over Crusaders in the final.[6] Linfield eventually finished as league runners-up, with Waterworth contributing 22 goals in 31 league appearances during his first season at the club.

Honours

Kilmore Recreation
Hamilton Academical
Glentoran
Linfield

References

  1. ↑ Waterworth Signs! - Hamilton Accies FC
  2. ↑ Aberdeen 1 Accies 0 - Hamilton Accies FC
  3. ↑ Dundee 1 Accies 1 - Hamilton Accies FC
  4. ↑ "Andy Waterworth joins Linfield from Irish Cup winners Glentoran". BBC Sport. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Irish Premiership: Linfield 4-1 Ballymena Utd". BBC Sport. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Linfield defeat Crusaders in Shield shoot-out". BBC Sport. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
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