Andrew James Rafferty (born 27 May 1988) 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. Rafferty played in League One for Hartlepool United making the step up from part-time side

Guisborough Town Guisborough Town Football Club is a football club based in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the King George V Ground. History The club was established in 1973 and joined the Middlesbrough & D ...

. Following his departure from Hartlepool, Rafferty signed for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

side Dover Athletic before playing for part-time side

Spennymoor Town Spennymoor Town Football Club is a football club based in Spennymoor, County Durham, in the North East of England. They currently compete in and currently play their home matches at The Brewery Field. The club began playing in the Northern L ...

Club career

Early career

Rafferty started his career at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

but left the club aged 16. Upon leaving, Rafferty had trials at

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and Wigan Athletic but a broken finger left him unable to sign. He went to play part-time for

Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Football ...

and

Horden Colliery Welfare Horden Community Welfare Football Club, usually abbreviated to Horden CW is a football club based in Horden, County Durham, England. The club was formed as Horden Colliery Welfare in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League in 1935, reaching ...

before joining

in 2008 and in two seasons he made 49 appearances for the club picking up the Player of the Year award in both seasons.

Hartlepool United

Rafferty joined Hartlepool United in the summer of 2010 from Guisborough Town. Shortly into the new season, Rafferty broke his hand and two bones in his finger in September 2010. When he returned from injury, Rafferty spent the majority of the season as back-up to Scott Flinders before making his Hartlepool United debut in a 1–1 draw against Tranmere Rovers in April 2011. A knee injury during pre-season in the 2012–13 season ruled Rafferty out for the majority of the season which led to him undergoing an intricate operation to repair the patella tendon in his left knee and return to training for the first time at the start of March. He was named on the Hartlepool team-sheet as a substitute for the first time of the season in a 2–2 draw against Crawley Town on the final game of the season. In April 2014, Rafferty made his first appearance of the season in a 1–0 defeat to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

in which he saved a penalty from Ryan Taylor. Rafferty made three further appearances before the end of the season. On 14 August 2014, he left Hartlepool United after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

Dover Athletic

On 19 September 2014 Rafferty joined

side Dover Athletic. The team had a run of 16 unbeaten games both home and away, including in two

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

shock wins over Football League sides

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...

and Cheltenham Town. Rafferty did not concede in his first 8 home appearances starting with the match against Alfreton Town and ending against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. Dover Athletic went on to reach the third round of the FA Cup and played at home against

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club Crystal Palace. Dover lost the match 4–0, Rafferty's performance earned him second place in The FA Cup's Third Round Top Five Saves. Dover beat

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

2–0 on 20 January 2015 to maintain their record 13 games unbeaten. Rafferty was part of the 2015/16 squad which achieved the club's highest finish in the

, missing out to Forest Green Rovers in the play off semi-finals. Rafferty was released by Dover at the end of the 2015/16 season.

Spennymoor Town

On 1 July 2016, Rafferty moved back to the North East to join newly promoted Northern Premier League Premier Division side,

. Rafferty left the club towards the end of the same season by mutual consent to start a new career outside of football.

Personal life

In 2017, Rafferty made the switch from playing football to become a paramedic.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafferty, Andy 1988 births People from Guisborough Living people English footballers Association football goalkeepers Darlington F.C. players Crook Town A.F.C. players Guisborough Town F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players English Football League players Dover Athletic F.C. players Spennymoor Town F.C. players Sportspeople from Yorkshire Darlington Town F.C. players Northern Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players