Mark John Ovendale (22 November 1973 – 29 August 2011) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

goalkeeper.

Playing career

Ovendale was born in

Leicester 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 ...

and began his career with local village team Leverington before joining Wisbech Town. He moved to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

, playing six league games in the 1994–95 season. He joined Welsh champions Barry Town in August 1997 and after a successful first season, joined

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

for a fee of £30,000 in July 1998. He quickly became the first choice in the Bournemouth goal, making his Cherries' debut on the opening day of the 1998–99 season, a 2–0 win at home to Lincoln City. He remained a regular over the next two seasons before a £425,000 move took him to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

in August 2000. Luton manager Ricky Hill installed Ovendale as his first choice goalkeeper, but he struggled to make an impact and spent the season in and out of the side, with former first choice Nathan Abbey replacing him on a number of occasions. With Abbey released and Luton relegated at the end of the season, Ovendale found himself as second choice goalkeeper, following the signing of Carl Emberson. He appeared only sporadically over the next two seasons and was released in 2003. In late July that year he re-signed for Barry Town, but just two weeks later joined

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

. York were relegated to the

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at the end of the season, and Ovendale was one of a number of players released. He signed for non-league Tiverton Town in the summer of 2004, where he remained until May 2006 when he joined Welsh side Carmarthen Town. He played for Carmarthen in the Inter-Toto Cup against Finnish side

Tampere United Tampere United is a Finnish football club from the city of Tampere. In the 2025 season, the club plays in Ykkönen, the third highest level of football in Finland. The club had a team in Veikkausliiga, the premier football league in Finland, ...

, but left in July 2006 to join Newport County, signing as a replacement for the injured Tony Pennock. He was forced to retire from playing in June 2007 due to a hip injury.

Coaching career

Mark joined Wimborne Town in a coaching role in August 2008 but made a few appearances in goal for the club during the 2008–09 season.

Death

He died in August 2011 from cancer. Days after Ovendale's death, his old club Barry Town honoured him into the Barry Town Hall of Fame and a memorial match was held at the Newport Stadium.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ovendale, Mark 1973 births 2011 deaths Footballers from Leicester English men's footballers Northampton Town F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Luton Town F.C. players Tiverton Town F.C. players York City F.C. players Carmarthen Town A.F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players Cymru Premier players Barry Town United F.C. players Men's association football goalkeepers Wimborne Town F.C. players Wisbech Town F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen