Andrew William Hayward is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and striker. Hayward started his career in non-league football, and his prolific goalscoring record soon attracted attention from bigger clubs. He turned professional at the age of 24, joining

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

from

Frickley Athletic Frickley Athletic Football Club is a football club based in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Westfield Lane. History The club was formed on 30 July 1908, and became a member of the South Yorkshire Lea ...

in 1994. He played 120 league games in four seasons before leaving the club in 1998. Whilst at Rotherham he was a part of the team that won the 1996 Football League Trophy Final. While at Rotherham he was lauded for his volleying ability and was considered the best in this regard within the lower leagues of English Professional Football. He has since played for numerous teams in non-league football. He signed for

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

, and had a brief loan spell with

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. He then moved on to Barrow in February 1999, and helped the club secure survival in the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

league when he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win against

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

on the last day of the season. He returned to his old club Frickley Athletic, before being signed by

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

in September 2000 for a club record fee. He stayed there for several seasons before moving on to

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

in March 2004. He stayed there until the summer of 2005, scoring 16 goals in 46 appearances. He went on to play for

Ossett Town Ossett Town Association Football Club was an English football club based in Ossett in West Yorkshire. History Ossett Town AFC were formed in 1936 when, during a public meeting, the Mayor of the Borough of Ossett charged John Carter, a former ...

, playing 53 times and scoring 32 goals, and

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

. He returned for a third spell at Frickley Athletic, this time as a player-assistant manager before joining

Garforth Town Garforth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Garforth, West Yorkshire, England. They are members of the and play at Wheatley Park. History The club was established in 1964 as Miners Arms, a Sunday league team based at ...

. He last played for Royston Railway in the Barnsley Sunday league football and works as a PE instructor at Evolve Academy, a pupil referral unit in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

. Hayward currently manages his local Sunday League club Royston FC. His greatest managerial accomplishment to date is winning the Wakefield and District Premier Division Cup in a thrilling 1-0 victory over Beechwood WMC in the 2024/24 season.

Honours

Rotherham United *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

: 1995–96

References

External links

*
Profile
at doncasterrovers.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Andy 1970 births Living people Footballers from Barnsley English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Frickley Athletic F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Ossett Town A.F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players Garforth Town A.F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players