Craig Conway (footballer)
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Craig Ian Conway (born 2 May 1985) is a Scottish retired professional
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 winger. He made seven full international appearances for the Scotland national team between 2009 and 2013. Conway started his career with
Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...
before moving to
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
side
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
in 2006. Ayr did not receive compensation for the deal until 10 months after he left. In 2011, he moved to
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
side
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
on a free transfer. In September 2013, he signed for Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Football League Championship on a three-month loan. In January 2014, Conway joined
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
side
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
on a 2.5-year deal. After leaving Blackburn in 2019, he had a short spell with Salford City, before signing for St Johnstone in 2020.


Career


Dundee United

Born in
Irvine, North Ayrshire Irvine ( ;
; ) is a town and former
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
and released before later signing with
Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...
, making 61 league appearances for the club and scoring seven times. Conway's good form alerted then-
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
manager
Craig Brewster Craig James Brown Brewster (born 13 December 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, D ...
and he agreed a pre-contract deal with Conway to bring him to
Tannadice Tannadice Park, officially known as The CalForth Construction Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Du ...
, with the transfer completed on 1 June 2006, with compensation decided ten months later. Largely used as a substitute under Brewster, Conway started the majority of matches under
Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. During his playing c ...
and assisted more goals than any other United player in 2006–07. In February 2007, Conway suffered a
broken foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of o ...
which appeared to end his season prematurely. However, Conway appeared in the final four matches of the season. Although playing at the start of the following season, it transpired that Conway was suffering similar issues and it was discovered that a bone graft was needed, ruling Conway out for the last three months of 2007. Conway returned to action in 2007–08, playing three matches before being sidelined for four months, returning in December. He scored his first goal for the club a month later in the 2–1 win over
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
in January and two matches later, scored the third goal in the 4–1 League Cup semi-final win over
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
. Conway signed a two-year contract extension in September 2008 to extend his time at
Tannadice Tannadice Park, officially known as The CalForth Construction Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Du ...
until 2011. On 15 May 2010, Conway scored two goals in a
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
performance as United beat Ross County 3–0 in the 2010 Scottish Cup Final. In April 2011, United manager
Peter Houston Peter Houston (born 19 July 1958) is a Scottish football player and manager who is assistant manager of the Scotland under-21 side. Houston played as a striker for Airdrieonians, Livingston United, Albion Rovers, Falkirk, Dumbarton and East ...
indicated that he expected Conway to leave the club at the end of the season, due to the Terrors being unable to match his wage demands. Craig was inducted into the Dundee United Hall of Fame on 23rd October 2023.


Cardiff City

On 21 June 2011, Conway confirmed that he had agreed terms with
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
and that he would have a medical within the next couple of days. Conway completed his move and signed a three-year contract with the Bluebirds on 23 June 2011. He made his debut in a 1–0 win over
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
on the opening day of the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
season. Conway scored his first goal for Cardiff the following game against
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
in the
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
. He then followed up his goal against Oxford with another goal against
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
in the league just four days later. Conway's third came as the winning goal against
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
, putting the Bluebirds through to the third round of the League Cup. He made his 250th career appearance in a 2–0 win over
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
on 5 November. Conway was an unused substitute at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
in the League Cup Final. In April 2012, Conway was selected for the match against
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
, but was taken off with 32 minutes played following a tackle made by
Jonathan Hogg Jonathan Lee Hogg (born 6 December 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. He is currently a free agent. He has previously played for Watford, Aston Villa, and Huddersfield Town, and has spent periods at ...
, which resulted in an ankle injury and ended his season, four games early. Conway returned in time for pre-season. He made his competitive return on 14 August 2012 against
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
in a 2–1 League Cup defeat. Following a lack of first team football during the season, Conway put in a transfer request on 23 November 2012 after starting only two games out of his four total appearances. The request was rejected by manager,
Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player, who is the sporting director at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian. Mackay, who played as a Defe ...
. Conway was included in the squad for the next two games following the request and he made an appearance against
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
. His first goal of the season came on 2 December, where he scored the winner against
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
, which ensured Cardiff beat their Club record of nine successive home wins. Following a run of successful performances, Conway withdrew his transfer request on 21 December, and went on to play a crucial role in Cardiff's
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
-winning season, including scoring the goal that sealed the title in a 1–1 draw at
Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...
against
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
in April.


Loan to Brighton & Hove Albion

On 13 September 2013, Conway joined
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
side
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...
on a 93-day short-term loan, running until 14 December 2013. Conway scored his first and only goal in this loan period on 7 December 2013, in the 3–1 victory against
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
.


Blackburn Rovers

On 31 January 2014, Transfer Deadline Day, Conway joined
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
side
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
on a -year deal. Conway scored his first goal for the club on 22 February 2014 in a 1–0 win away against
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
. On 10 December 2015, Conway signed a new deal which will keep him until 2018. After Blackburn were relegated to League One, Conway stayed with Blackburn but was gradually dropped from the starting eleven after suffering multiple injuries and a dip in form. He entered into talks for a new contract with Blackburn at the end of the 2017–18 season which resulted in him extending his contract by another year with an option for a further twelve months. On 25 May 2019 Conway confirmed he would be leaving at the end of his current contract after five and a half years at Rovers.


Salford City

In October 2019, Conway signed for Salford City on a short-term deal. His contract was later extended to the end of the 2019–20 season. He was released by the club on 16 May 2020. He made his début against
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
, providing the assist for
Luke Armstrong Luke Thomas Armstrong (born 2 July 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Carlisle United. Armstrong came through the ranks at Middlesbrough and Birmingham City. After a short spell in Scotland with Cowdenb ...
to open the scoring in a 3–0 triumph as Salford won away for the first time in the
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
.


St Johnstone

On 31 July 2020, Conway signed for Scottish club
St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...
, on a one-year deal. He scored his first goals for St Johnstone when he scored twice in a 5–3 win over
Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...
on 17 October 2020. Conway played in the February 2021 Scottish League Cup Final against
Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...
at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
on 28 February 2021 as Saints won the trophy for the first time with a 1–0 win. He had previously scored the third goal in the 3–0 semi-final win against
Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...
, also at Hampden. Conway was released by St Johnstone at the end of the 2020–21 season.


Retirement

Conway announced his retirement in a post on his
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
account on 18 March 2022.


International career

Conway made his international debut under
George Burley George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...
on 10 October 2009 against
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, he started the game but Scotland lost 2–0. It took him two years to make his next appearance for Scotland, which came in the
2011 Nations Cup The 2011 Nations Cup (also known as the Carling Nations Cup after its headline sponsor) was a Round-robin tournament, round-robin association football, football tournament between the Northern Ireland national football team, Northern Ireland, Re ...
against
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, this time Scotland won 3–0. His third appearance for Scotland was on 11 November 2011 in a 2–1 friendly victory over
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
in
Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...
. Most recently, he was a substitute in the 3–2 friendly loss to England at Wembley in August 2013.


Career statistics


Club


International appearances


Honours

Dundee United *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2009–10 Cardiff City *
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
:
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
*
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
runner-up: 2011–12 Blackburn Rovers *
EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
runner-up: 2017–18 St Johnstone *Scottish Cup:
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
*
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
:
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Craig 1985 births Living people Footballers from Irvine, North Ayrshire Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Ayr United F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Salford City F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen