Steven Allan Masterton (born 2 January 1985) is a Scottish football
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
who last played for
Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region
The Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region was one of three regions of the SJFA which organised its own distinct league and cup competitions. The SJFA used to be split into six regions, but in 2002 they took the decision to reform into ...
Masterton began his career at Kilmarnock, but didn't play for the senior team. He played in the
Scottish Youth Cup The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams,
winning team of 2004. Killie won 1–0 against
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 ...
at
Rugby Park
Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for c ...
in the final. Masterton along with Neil McGregor and Steven Naismith (all three played in the final) were promoted to the first team squad shortly afterwards.
Clyde
Masterton signed for Clyde in the summer of 2005, and made his début as a substitute in a
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Brechin City. Masterton became a fringe player in his first few months at Clyde, but got a regular place in the team, filling in for long-term injury victim Paul McHale. Masterton played against Roy Keane during Clyde's famous win over Celtic in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,season 2006–07, scoring 8 goals.
At the end of season 2007–08 during Clyde's
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...
semi final play-off first leg match at Alloa Athletic, Masterton scored what proved to be a vital. In a 2–1 defeat, he scored the equaliser with a trademark free kick just after the hour mark . Clyde went on to win 6–5 on aggregate.
Greenock Morton
On 16 May 2008, Masterton agreed to join First Division rivals Greenock Morton.
'Masty' scored his first goal for Morton in a 3–0 Challenge Cup win over
Jim McInally
James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 Scottish Cup and played in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. At United he was also ...
's East Stirlingshire before doubling his Morton tally with a 25-yard free-kick in a 4–3 cup shock victory over
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
side Hibernian. He continued his cup goal scoring exploits with the opener against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup loss at Balmoor, before opening his league tally with the equaliser first half free-kick at
Cappielow
Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton ...
Conference National
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-profes ...
side
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
on a one-year deal.
In the January 2011 transfer window, Masterton was loaned out to
Eastbourne Borough
Eastbourne Borough Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and is a registered Commun ...
.
Auchinleck Talbot
After his release by Crawley, Masterton signed for Auchinleck Talbot on an amateur contract, to allow to sign for a senior side if one offered him terms.
Alloa Athletic
After one match in the
Juniors
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
, Masterton was offered a contract until December with Alloa Athletic in the
Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
. He made his début in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Annan Athletic, and he scored the final goal of the match ten minutes after replacing another ex-Morton midfielder, Darren Young.
Return to Clyde
In August 2012, Masterton made his second début for Clyde as a trialist during the club's opening league game of the season at Montrose winning 3–2. Following two more appearances for the club as a trialist he signed a short-term deal with Clyde until the end of 2012. On 10 November 2012, Masterton left the club by mutual consent after he injured himself in a Scottish cup game with Nairn County, The Clyde website said he was suffering with groin problems.
Hurlford United
Masterton signed for Junior side Hurlford United by Manager Derek McCulloch in February 2013.
Under long-term Chairman Lorimer Headley and Manager Del McCulloch, Hurlford won the SJFA West Super League First Division to win promotion to the West Super League Premier Division for the first time in their history.
In the 2013–14 season, Masterton was a key player as Hurlford not only kept their place in the Super Premier with a strong 3rd-place finish, but also won the Scottish Junior Cup for the first time, beating East Ayrshire rivals Glenafton Athletic 3–0 in the final at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock. This meant the club entered the senior Scottish Cup, a great feat for the small community of Hurlford, but almost even more remarkable, as local amateur team Hurlford Thistle also won the Scottish Amateur Cup in 2014. In the 2014–15 Scottish Cup, 'Ford overcame away ties against Highland League opponents Clachnacuddin (7–1) and Inverurie Loco Works (3–0), then took Scottish League One club Stirling Albion to a replay, extra time and a penalty shootout, which was eventually lost 13–12.
Masterton was forced to retire from the game at the age of 29 after a succession of injuries.