Maxime Teremoana Crocombe (born 12 August 1993) is a New Zealand 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 ...

who plays 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 ...

for

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football L ...

side

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

and the New Zealand national team. Crocombe moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

at an early age and began his professional career with

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and ...

who had signed him from Non-League side Buckingham Town. He went on to play on loan with

Banbury United Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium. History The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the ...

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

, Barnet and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

before signing permanently with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

. In 2017 he moved to

Salford City Salford City may refer to: *The City of Salford *Salford City F.C., an association football club from the city *Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play i ...

where he was part of the City side that won back to back promotions to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. In 2019 he moved to play in the

Australian A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professionalism in association football, professional men's association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Austral ...

with spells at

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisb ...

and

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victo ...

Early life

Crocombe was born in Auckland, New Zealand, before moving to England at a young age. He had spells with

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. Th ...

and

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1 ...

before joining Buckingham Town. Crocombe attended

Oakgrove School Oakgrove School is a coeducational, nursery, primary school, secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Middleton (Oakgrove Secondary) and Oakgrove (Oakgrove Primary & Nursery) districts of south-east Milton Keyn ...

in Milton Keynes along with

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 ...

player

Jeffrey Schlupp Jeffrey Schlupp (; born 23 December 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger or occasional left back for club Crystal Palace and the Ghana national team. Schlupp started his career as a striker. Early life Jeff ...

Club career

Buckingham Town

In the summer of 2009, Crocombe signed for Buckingham Town at the age of 16. He made 33 senior first team appearances before being spotted by scouts of Oxford United. Despite being a goalkeeper he scored one goal in his time at Buckingham Town after coming on as an outfield substitute in a 3–1 league defeat.

Oxford United

Crocombe joined Oxford United as a scholar under youth-team coach Chris Allen and signed his first professional contract in April 2012. He almost made his debut shortly afterwards after injuries to

Ryan Clarke Ryan James Clarke (born 30 April 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League South club Bath City. He previously trained with the England under-18 squad in La Manga. Career Bristol Rovers Born ...

and Wayne Brown, and the termination of Connor Ripley's loan, however Oxford eventually signed Arsenal's

Emiliano Martínez Damián Emiliano Martínez (born 2 September 1992) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Argentina national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers i ...

on loan and Crocombe had to wait for his debut. Whilst at the club, he has been coached by

Alan Hodgkinson Alan Hodgkinson MBE (16 August 1936 – 8 December 2015) was an English professional football goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach. Playing career Hodgkinson signed for Sheffield United from Worksop Town on 1 August 1953, and made 675 first-team a ...

and Wayne Brown. Crocombe's

debut came in a 1–1 draw with

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home gro ...

on 29 January 2013. He kept his first clean sheet for the club in his second league appearance, a 1–0 away win over

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

in April 2013, which ended a five-match winless run. He remained in goal for the rest of the league season, keeping three consecutive clean sheets with 3–0 wins against both

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...

. In total, Crocombe made six appearances for club and country in his debut professional season, conceding just one goal. In June 2013, he signed a long-term contract with the club. By the 2013–14 season he had established himself as deputy to Oxford's long-standing number 1,

. Crocombe appeared twice in the 2014–15 season, both times in the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

. In his second appearance he held Premier League side

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

to one goal in 120 minutes and saved their first two spot kicks in the penalty shoot-out. At the end of the season, which included a productive loan spell at

, the club triggered a 2-year option in his contract to extend his stay until the end of 2017.

Loan to Nuneaton Town

In February 2015, Crocombe signed on loan at

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

side

until the end of the season. After impressing with a clean sheet on his debut, he was named in the Non-League Paper's Team of the Day. He did not concede a goal in any of his first 6 games and was named man of the match twice in his short spell for the club.

Loan to Barnet

Crocombe was loaned to Barnet on 18 September 2015, with the Bees without a senior keeper due to an injury and a suspension.

Loan to Southport

In October 2015 Crocombe was recalled from Barnet and sent on a three-month loan to

of the

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 ...

. After a series of impressive performances in his first 3 months for the club he was named Southport's Player of the Month for both November 2015 and January 2016.

Carlisle United

Crocombe left Oxford by mutual consent and signed a one-year deal with

on 4 August 2016.

Salford City

In May 2017 he joined

. In October 2017 Crocombe was sent off during a match against

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former ho ...

for urinating at the side of a stand A spectator made a formal complaint and the incident was later reported to the police. Crocombe subsequently posted an apology on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and explained "I was in a very uncomfortable position and made an error of judgement that spoiled a great win".

Brisbane Roar

In July 2019, Crocombe joined Australian

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

side

to challenge

Jamie Young Jamie Iain Young (born 25 August 1985) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Melbourne City. Born in Australia, he was a youth international for England. Early life and education Young was born in Brisbane, Australia, ...

for the starting goalkeeper position. In October 2020, Crocombe left Brisbane Roar.

Melbourne Victory

After leaving Brisbane Roar, Crocombe joined

in October 2020. He was released on 11 June 2021.

Grimsby Town

On 30 July 2021, Crocombe returned to

, penning a one-year deal with

. Initially being signed as a back-up keeper, Crocombe became Grimsby's first choice keeper in December at the expense of club veteran

James McKeown James Karl McKeown (born 24 July 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for side Cleethorpes Town. Born in Birmingham, McKeown began his career aged 15 with Coventry City and Walsall youth teams, but was unable to estab ...

. On 23 May 2022, with Grimsby trailing 1-0 to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

in the

play-offs in the final minute of added on time, Crocombe came up for a free kick and with the ball falling to him it bounced off his knees as he prepared to shoot before dropping to

Gavan Holohan Gavan Holohan (born 15 December 1991) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for EFL League Two club Grimsby Town. Beginning his career as a youngster with Hull City, Holohan returned to his native Ireland where he featured for League ...

who scored the equaliser, with Crocombe claiming the assist. Grimsby went on to win the game 2-1 in extra time. Crocombe played in the

2022 National League play-off Final The 2022 National League play-off Final, known as the Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was an association football match played on 5 June 2022 at the London Stadium between Solihull Moors and Grimsby Town. It deter ...

as Grimsby beat

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Lea ...

2–1 at the

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford district of London. It is located in the Lower Lea ...

to return to the

International career

New Zealand Under-20s

On 22 January 2013, Crocombe was called up to the provisional New Zealand under-20s squad for the

2013 OFC U-20 Championship The 2013 OFC U-20 Championship was the 19th edition of the OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament, the biennial football championship of Oceania ( OFC). The competition was held at two venues in Fiji, from the 21 to 29 March, with the winner qualif ...

in Fiji, the regional qualifying tournament for the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

. He was confirmed in the final squad of 20 on 20 February 2013 and made his debut in the 1–0 win over Vanuatu. Crocombe kept clean sheets in both his appearances and was voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament, earning him the Golden Glove Award. He was confirmed in the New Zealand under-20 squad for the

in Turkey and was described as a key player for the team. Crocombe played in two of New Zealand's games as the team exited the competition at the group stage.

New Zealand Under-23s

In June 2015, Crocombe was included in the New Zealand under-23s squad for the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games we ...

, which was used as a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Crocombe kept 4 clean sheets in 4 games before New Zealand were disqualified from the tournament for fielding an ineligible player.

Senior Team

In March 2015, Crocombe was called up to the full New Zealand squad for a friendly against South Korea. A year later he was included in the senior squad for the

2016 OFC Nations Cup The 2016 OFC Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played between 28 May and 11 Ju ...

. He made his full international debut for the All Whites in a friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

in March 2018.

Career statistics

Honours

Salford City *

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

play-offs:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Grimsby Town *

play-off winners:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

References

External links

Oxford United player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crocombe, Max 1993 births Living people Association footballers from Auckland New Zealand association footballers New Zealand under-20 international footballers Association football goalkeepers Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Buckingham Town F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Banbury United F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Southport F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Brisbane Roar FC players Melbourne Victory FC players Grimsby Town F.C. players 2016 OFC Nations Cup players English Football League players National League (English football) players