Stephen Grindlay (born 13 March 1982 in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter town ...

) is a Scottish 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 le ...

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 o ...

for St Cadoc's.

Club career

Early career

Grindlay began his career as a youth player for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

before being picked up by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. He was primarily in the youth system, however he did make one appearance in a friendly match with the first team against

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

when he was 19. He left and had a spell with Grimsby Town. This was brief and soon returned home, with his family at Dumbarton.

Dumbarton

Grindlay was shipped off on loan to Dumbarton Academy FPs during his first season to give him some regular football. He helped guide them to a domestic cup final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

in Glasgow, losing 2–1. He returned and found himself immediately in the 1st team. He became one of Dumbarton's most experienced and highest paid players at such a young age, making nearly 200 appearances and setting records along the way. In 2004, he won the Dick Jackson Memorial Shield, an award given to players by supporters for being the best young player at the club. On 7 April 2007 he kept his 15th clean sheet of the season, breaking a record set back during the 1991–92 season.

Queen of the South

After leaving Dumbarton, Grindlay signed for First Division side Queen of the South on 9 July 2007. He made four appearances for the club.

Ayr United

Grindlay was snapped up by Ayr United boss Brian Reid after his release from Queen of the South. Grindlay played in every game in the 2008–09 Season as Ayr went up via the Play-Offs. On 10 January 2009 he saved an

Allan Russell Allan John Russell (born 13 December 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer who was most recently a set-piece coach for club Norwich City. Currently resides in Franklin, TN with his fiancé Jana Russell (Kramer) where they are expe ...

penalty in a 2-2

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

Dumbarton

Grindlay opted to take up a second spell with the Sons for the 2010–11 season, he has signed for another season at 'The Rock' in May 2011. During the 2011–12 season he was in fine form as he helped the Sons win promotion through the play-offs to make the First Division for the first time in 16 years. After re-signing with the club for the 2014–15 season, his 10th season with Dumbarton and was entitled to a Testimonial match. He had the following to say about his testimonial: "We will need to look to get a testimonial committee together and fingers crossed we can get a game and a few events arranged... It will be a good chance to get the players and the fans together for a day that everyone can enjoy." He left the club on the week of the testimonial at the end of his contract.

Honours

;Ayr United * Scottish First Division play-offs : 2008–09 ;Dumbarton * Scottish First Division play-offs : 2011–12 ;Beith Juniors * Scottish Junior Cup : 2015–16

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grindlay, Stephen 1982 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Scottish men's footballers Celtic F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Scottish Football League players Sportspeople from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire Footballers from West Dunbartonshire Scottish Professional Football League players Beith Juniors F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players West of Scotland Football League players