Derek Simon Lilley (born 9 February 1974) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for several clubs in Scotland and England. Former friend of Stepps Junior Bowling legend, Kevin McAuley. He started his career with Greenock Morton, before a big-money move to Premier League side Leeds United. He had loan spells with Hearts and Bury before joining Oxford United. In 2000, Lilley returned to Scotland with Dundee United, playing with them, Livingston, Morton again, and St. Johnstone, Stirling Albion then finally Forfar Athletic.

Career

Morton & England

Lilley began his career with Greenock Morton and won a move to English Premier League side Leeds United in 1997. His time at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

was frustrating, with only four starts from 21 appearances and only a solitary goal when he replaced Lee Bowyer to score the winner in a 3–2 away win at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. He spent three months on loan, at Heart of Midlothian and Bury, where again he managed a goal for each club. His goal at Hearts coming in a 2–1 defeat to Dundee, and his goal at Bury coming in a crucial 1–0 win over Oxford United. A move to Oxford United in 1999–00 helped kick-start his career and his return of nine goals from 63 appearances prompted interest from Dundee United.

Scotland

A move in December 2000 saw him head north to United and a debut goal salvaged a point at home to

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

, although he would be sent off in his second game against former club Hearts. Ultimately, it was Lilley's last-minute winner at

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

which saved United from relegation and his six goals in the half-season would cement his status with the fans. The following season, Lilley would manage just six goals, despite a hat-trick against St Johnstone and only two league goals in 2002–03 spelled the end of his time at

Tannadice Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, 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 Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

. A move to Livingston followed in 2003–04 and a rejuvenated Lilley scored 12 league goals, plus four in the Scottish League Cup – including the winning goal in the semi-final against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and one in the final win against Hibernian – and a hat-trick in the Scottish Cup against Spartans. This earned him the nickname of "The Goal Machine." 2004–05 was a different story, however and Lilley's three goals were not enough to earn him a new contract. Lilley returned to first club Morton for 2005–06 and managed twelve league goals as Morton narrowly lost in the play-off

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

s. In 2006–07, he had managed four league goals by the turn of the year. On 26 January 2007, his contract was terminated by Morton, and he signed for St. Johnstone. After making fourteen appearances for Saints (all as a substitute), Lilley was released by the club at the end of the season. On 7 June 2007, Lilley signed for newly promoted First Division side Stirling Albion. Lilley only played a handful of games for Stirling Albion before being released at the end of the season. Lilley signed for Forfar Athletic in June 2008, going on to score three goals against East Stirlingshire and Berwick in the league and Partick Thistle in the League Cup, before being released at the end of the 2008–09 season.

Career statistics

Honours

Livingston

* Scottish League Cup: 1 :: 2003–04

Greenock Morton

* Scottish Second Division: 2 :: 2006–07
1994–95

References

External links

*
Profile
a
londonhearts.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilley, Derek 1974 births Footballers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Living people Greenock Morton F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Bury F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Livingston F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Stirling Albion F.C. players Forfar Athletic F.C. players Scottish footballers Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Association football forwards People educated at Park Mains High School Scotland youth international footballers