Derek Bryan (footballer)

Derek Bryan
Personal information
Full name Derek Kirk Bryan[1]
Date of birth (1974-11-11) 11 November 1974
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1996 Bedfont Green 0 (0)
1996–1997 Hampton 0 (0)
1997–2002 Brentford 55 (9)
2002 Gravesend & Northfleet 1 (0)
2002 Welling United 9 (1)
2002 Walton & Hersham 0 (0)
2002–2003 Hampton & Richmond Borough 0 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Derek Kirk Bryan (born 11 November 1974) is an English retired footballer, best remembered for his five-season spell in the Football League with Brentford. A player described as having "lightning pace and an eye for goal",[2] his career was effectively ended by a knee injury suffered in January 2000.

Playing career

Early years

Bryan grew up in Hammersmith, London and began his career at Combined Counties League Premier side Bedfont Green.[2][3] He joined Isthmian League Division Two side Hampton on 1 August 1996.[4] He left the club in August 1997.[4]

Brentford

Bryan signed for Division Two side Brentford on 29 August 1997 in a £50,000 deal.[4] He made his debut for the club in a 0–0 league draw at Plymouth Argyle on 13 September, replacing Ryan Denys after 81 minutes.[4] He made his first start in a 2–2 away draw with Bristol City on 3 March 1998. He capped his day by scoring the opening goal just before half time and was substituted after 59 minutes for Niall Thompson.[4] He bagged his second goal in as many games on 7 March, scoring Brentford's second in a 3–2 victory over Bournemouth, though he was replaced by Andy Scott at half time.[4] Niggling injuries saw Bryan make just 11 appearances during the 1997–98 season,[5] scoring two goals as Brentford suffered relegation to Division Three on the last day.[6] Bryan had to wait until November for his first appearance of the 1998–99 season, coming on as a 56th-minute substitute for Drewe Broughton in a 2–0 defeat at Shrewsbury Town.[7] He scored his first goal of the season on 2 January 1999, netting the second in a 3–1 defeat of Barnet.[7] Now holding down a starting place, he scored in a 3–2 win over Torquay United on 13 February and Brentford's equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Scarborough on 27 February, taking his tally to three goals in seven games.[7] Bryan made 24 appearances during the 1998–99 season, scoring four goals as Brentford were promoted straight back to Division Two as champions.[7]

Back in Division Two for the 1999–00 season, Bryan scored on his third appearance, firing home the opener in a 2–0 victory over Oldham Athletic.[8] He continued to make regular appearances throughout the season until disaster struck in a Football League Trophy quarter-final tie at home to Oxford United on 25 January 2000.[6] Bryan scored the opening goal of the 2–0 win, but in the process he damaged the medial and cruciate ligaments in both knees.[6] The injury meant that he missed the rest of the 1999–00 season and the entire 2000–01 season.[6] Bryan made his comeback from the injury after 77 minutes of a 2–1 league victory over Peterborough United on 13 October 2001, when he came on as a substitute for Ben Burgess.[9] It turned out to be Bryan's final appearance for the club and he was released in March 2002.[10] During his time at Brentford, Bryan made 64 appearances and scored 10 goals.

Gravesend & Northfleet

Bryan signed for Isthmian League Premier Division high-fliers Gravesend & Northfleet on 11 March 2002.[10][11] He made his debut for the club on the same day in a 2–0 defeat to Purfleet, making little impact and being substituted for Che Stadhart half time.[12] It was Bryan's only appearance for the club and he and departed a matter of weeks later.

Welling United

Bryan joined Southern League Premier Division side Welling United in late March 2002. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Weymouth on 30 March, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute for goalscorer Tommy Tyne in a 1–1 draw.[13] Bryan made his first start for the club in a 1–0 defeat to King's Lynn on 6 April, playing the full 90 minutes.[14] Bryan scored his first goal for the club in the following game versus Tamworth, levelling the scores at 2–2, before being withdrawn at half time during a 3–3 draw.[15] Bryan made 9 appearances and scored one goal during what remained of the 2001–02 season and left the club at the end of the campaign.[16]

Walton & Hersham

On 8 November 2002 Bryan signed for Isthmian Division One South side Walton & Hersham and left the club the following month after failing to make an appearance.[9][17]

Return to Hampton & Richmond Borough

Bryan signed for former side Hampton & Richmond Borough (then members of the Isthmian League Premier Division) on 3 December 2002.[2] He made his debut in a 6–0 Isthmian League Cup defeat to Lewes on 11 December.[18]

Honours

Brentford

References

  1. "Derek Bryan". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  3. "Combined Counties Previous Tables". Ccleague.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Derek Bryan | Football Stats | Walton & Hersham | Age 39". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  5. "Derek Bryan | Football Stats | Walton & Hersham | Season 1997/1998". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 421. ISBN 9781906796723.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Derek Bryan | Football Stats | Walton & Hersham | Season 1998/1999". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  8. "Derek Bryan | Football Stats | Walton & Hersham | Season 1999/2000 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  9. 1 2 "Derek Bryan | Football Stats | Walton & Hersham | Season 2001/2002". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  10. 1 2 Footymad Limited. "Another leaves". brentford-mad.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  11. "March 2002". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  12. "Surprise defeat dents Fleet's title hopes". Kentonline.co.uk. 2002-03-12. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  13. "Team Sheet". Soccerfactsuk.co.uk. 2002-03-30. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  14. "Team Sheet". Soccerfactsuk.co.uk. 2002-04-06. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  15. "Team Sheet". Soccerfactsuk.co.uk. 2002-04-09. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  16. "SoccerFacts UK Player Details". Soccerfactsuk.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  17. "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  18. "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.