Steve Evans (footballer born 1979)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven James Evans | ||
| Date of birth | 26 February 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Wrexham, Wales | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
The New Saints | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2006 | The New Saints | 152 | (24) |
| 2001–2002 | → Oswestry Town (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2006–2009 | Wrexham | 80 | (7) |
| 2009– | The New Saints | 109 | (13) |
| 2014–2015 | → Connah's Quay Nomads (loan) | 23 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006–2008 | Wales | 7 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:46, 29 April 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:46, 10 September 2008 (UTC) |
|||
Steven James Evans (born 26 February 1979) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for The New Saints. He is a full Welsh international.
Evans began his career with as a trainee at Crewe Alexandra and West Bromwich Albion but was not offered a professional contract by either club. He joined Welsh Premier side TNS in the summer of 1999, playing in the title-winning side of 2000. He struggled to keep a first-team place in the 2001–02 season due to injury and joined Oswestry Town on loan. After six appearances for Oswestry Town, he returned to TNS and played in the title winning sides of 2005 and 2006 and the 2005 Welsh Cup with victory over Carmarthen Town.
He won the Welsh Premier player of the season award for 2004–05 and made nine appearances for the Welsh semi-professional side. Evans played two games against the then-European champions Liverpool in the summer of 2005; TNS lost both legs 3–0 but he and the rest of the side were praised for their performances against a side containing the likes of England midfielder Steven Gerrard with Liverpool manager saying, "TNS were well organised and they did well. We saw them on videos before the tie and we knew that they would be prepared.". Evans was inducted as a New Saints legend in May 2008.
In February 2006, Evans impressed for the Saints in an FAW Premier Cup semi-final against Wrexham, scoring an equaliser in extra-time to force the game into penalties, and joined Wrexham on a two-year deal in June 2006. He had made over 150 league and cup appearances for TNS. Wrexham manager, Denis Smith, said of him, "He can be as good as he wants to be – maybe he could even do a good job for Wales. Steve's good in the air, can pass well and reads the game. He's older and wiser and benefits from experience."
After joining the Racecourse club, he scored on his home debut against Grimsby Town in a 3–0 win. He was sent-off for two bookings against rivals, Chester City at the Deva Stadium in August 2006; Denis Smith, however, said that he had "...been outstanding for me since coming into the League. He was looking a bit 'leggy', he's finding full-time football a bit different, but he'll learn from this." In spite of that setback, Evans made a seamless transition from the largely semi-professional League of Wales to the fully professional Football League Two, making 40 league and cup appearances for Wrexham in the 2006–07 season, which was interrupted by a five-match ban during March 2007 for having been sent off three times in the season, and 32 league and cup appearances in the 2007–08 season. Following Wrexham's relegation to the Football Conference at the end of the 2007–08, he was out of contract and was considering his options. He signed a new one-year deal with Wrexham in June 2008, with an option for a further twelve months. However Evans fell out of favour during the season and was released by the club, along with Shaun Pejic, on 2 February. Evans then rejoined his former club, The New Saints, the next day.
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