Stephen Grindlay (born 13 March 1982 in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. ...

) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

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 Foot ...

before being picked up by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. 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 in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...

when he was 19. He left and had a spell with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. This was brief and soon returned home, with his family at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

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'') 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 ...

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 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

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 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 ...

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. Playing career Scotland and England Born in Glasgow, Russell began his career in 1999 with ...

penalty in a 2-2

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...

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

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 The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

play-offs : 2008–09 ;Dumbarton *

play-offs : 2011–12 ;Beith Juniors *

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...

: 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 Footballers from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire Scottish Professional Football League players Beith Juniors F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players West of Scotland Football League players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen