Corry Evans

Corry Evans

Evans playing for Hull City in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Corry John Evans [1]
Date of birth	(1990-07-30) 30 July 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Bradford City
Youth career
	Greenisland Boys
2005–2009	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2011	Manchester United	0	(0)
2010	→ Carlisle United (loan)	1	(0)
2011	→ Hull City (loan)	18	(3)
2011–2013	Hull City	75	(3)
2013–2021	Blackburn Rovers	206	(4)
2021–2024	Sunderland	61	(2)
2024–	Bradford City	0	(0)
International career‡
2006–2007	Northern Ireland U16	3	(1)
2007	Northern Ireland U17	5	(0)
2007–2008	Northern Ireland U19	9	(0)
2008–2009	Northern Ireland U21	10	(0)
2009	Northern Ireland B	1	(0)
2009–	Northern Ireland	69	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:24, 4 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 05:42, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

Corry John Evans (born 30 July 1990) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or centre-back for League Two side Bradford City. A Northern Ireland under-21 and senior international, he came through the Manchester United youth academy, like his older brother, Jonny Evans. Corry Evans is capable of operating in defence or the centre of midfield.

Club career

Early career

Born in Belfast, Evans began his career with Greenisland Boys FC, where fellow Manchester United youth players Craig Cathcart and Conor Devlin also played before moving to England. However, when Evans' brother, Jonny, was signed by Manchester United, the whole family moved to Manchester.

Manchester United

Evans then joined the Manchester United youth team, and originally played as a schoolboy until he signed a trainee contract with the club on his 16th birthday in July 2006. By then, he had already become a regular in the club's Under-18 side, and he even made his debut for the reserve team on 31 October 2005, coming on as a substitute for Sam Hewson in a 5–1 away defeat by Oldham Athletic. He made 19 appearances and scored one goal for the Under 18s in 2006–07, but his next reserve team appearance did not come until November 2007, when he came on as a second-half substitute for David Gray in a 2–1 away win over Middlesbrough.

After five more appearances for the reserves in 2007–08, Evans established himself as a regular in the reserve team in 2008–09, and was even given the captain's armband at one point. However, despite having been deployed as a central midfielder throughout his earlier career, Evans found himself increasingly used as a centre-back during the 2008–09 season. Towards the end of the season, along with James Chester and Tom Cleverley, Evans was nominated by reserve team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær for the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award, ^[2] but lost out to Chester. ^[3]

Evans received his first call-up to the Manchester United first team on 24 May 2009, when he was named on the bench for the club's last game of the 2008–09 Premier League season against Hull City. ^[4]

In July 2010, Evans was part of the United squad that toured North America. ^[5] Although he was an unused substitute in the first match against Celtic, ^[6] he came on as a substitute in the second half of the second game against Philadelphia Union, joining his brother Jonny on the pitch. ^[7]

On 22 October 2010, he joined Carlisle United on a one-month loan deal. ^[8]

Hull City

On 14 January 2011, he joined Hull City on loan. ^[9] Making his debut on 22 January 2011, as a replacement for Cameron Stewart, and scoring in the 1–1 away draw against Reading. ^[10] The move was made permanent following the close of the 2010–11 season. ^[11]

He made his first appearance since joining City on a permanent deal starting against Ipswich Town on 13 August 2011 at Portman Road, with City winning 1–0. ^[12] On 10 December 2011 against Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena, a neat move down the left resulted in Dawson sending over a high cross which dropped for Corry Evans, who controlled the ball before sending a low volley past Joe Murphy and into the bottom corner of the net. ^[13]

On 29 December 2012, Evans scored the first goal in the Tigers' 2–0 victory over Leeds United, placing the ball into the bottom corner past Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny. ^[14]

Blackburn Rovers

After 97 appearances for Hull, Evans left to join Blackburn Rovers in August 2013. Despite a groin injury delaying his debut for the club, Evans passed a medical and signed a three-year contract. ^[15] On 31 August 2013, Evans scored his first goal for the club with a superb volley from 25 yards. ^[16] In November 2015, he signed a contract extension which would keep him in the club till 2019. ^[17] He was injured in December 2016 in a match against Brighton and Hove Albion in December 2016 due to a recurring groin problem. As a result, he was substituted off in the second half. ^[18] In March 2017, it was announced that he would be ruled out of action for the rest of the season as he would undergo a surgery for his groin problem. ^[19]

Evans' departure from Rovers was announced at the end of the 2020–21 season. ^[20]

Sunderland

On 15 July 2021, Evans joined League One side Sunderland on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal with an option of an additional year. ^[21] On 4 August, he was appointed club captain by manager Lee Johnson. ^[22] He scored his first goal for the club on 5 February 2022 in a 2–1 loss to Doncaster Rovers. ^[23]

On 17 May 2024, the club announced he would be released in the summer once his contract expired. ^[24]

Bradford City

On 6 October 2024, Bradford announced Evans had signed on a short term deal at the league two club. ^[25]

International career

Evans began his international football career as a schoolboy international, playing for the Northern Ireland under-16 side; he scored one goal in three appearances for the team. In 2007, he progressed to the under-17 side, playing in five fixtures in the space of two months. However, the team went winless in those five matches, losing three and drawing the other two. By the end of 2007, Evans had joined the under-19 team, but they were just as the under-17s, losing four and winning just one of the six matches that Evans played in between October 2007 and October 2008. He made his debut for the under-21 side on 19 August 2008, but he was substituted after 72 minutes of the 1–0 defeat to Poland. He has since made four more appearances for the under-21s. Although the U21s failed to qualify for the Euro 2009, he was recalled for several Euro 2011 qualifiers.

Evans received his first call-up to the Northern Ireland senior team on 20 May 2009; he was named in a 19-man squad that contained nine other uncapped players for the match against Italy in Pisa on 6 June 2009. ^[26] He made his debut in that very game, playing 78 minutes of the 3–0 defeat before being replaced by Shane Ferguson. ^[27] On 3 September 2010, Evans scored his first international goal as he scored the winner with his first touch after coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 away win over Slovenia in the first UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying game. ^[28]

Evans was included in the Northern Ireland squad for the 2016 UEFA Euro which took place in France. ^[29] He was an unused substitute in its first match which saw Northern Ireland lose to Poland by a margin of 1–0. ^[30] He played the whole of the country's last group stage match against Wales which produced a similar result due to which Northern Ireland was eliminated from the tournament. ^[31]

During the first leg of a two-game playoff against Switzerland in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Evans was penalised for handball after a shot from close proximity from Xherdan Shaqiri went off his side, leading to a penalty kick that would be converted for what would ultimately prove the deciding score, both on the day and on aggregate. His brother Jonny compared the decision to Thierry Henry's handball against the Republic of Ireland in the 2010 qualification playoff. ^[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 May 2024 ^[33]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	2008–09 [34]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2009–10 [35]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2010–11 [36]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Carlisle United (loan)	2010–11 [36]	League One	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Hull City (loan)	2010–11 [36]	Championship	18	3	—		—		—		18	3
Hull City	2011–12 [37]	Championship	43	2	2	0	0	0	—		45	2
	2012–13 [38]	Championship	32	1	1	0	1	0	—		34	1
	Total		93	6	3	0	1	0	—		97	6
Blackburn Rovers	2013–14 [39]	Championship	21	1	0	0	0	0	—		21	1
	2014–15 [40]	Championship	38	1	3	0	0	0	—		41	1
	2015–16 [41]	Championship	30	1	2	0	1	0	—		33	1
	2016–17 [42]	Championship	19	0	0	0	0	0	—		19	0
	2017–18 [43]	League One	32	0	3	0	1	1	0	0	36	1
	2018–19 [44]	Championship	35	0	1	0	0	0	—		36	0
	2019–20 [45]	Championship	9	0	0	0	2	0	—		11	0
	2020–21 [46]	Championship	18	0	0	0	0	0	—		18	0
	Total		202	3	9	0	4	1	0	0	215	4
Sunderland	2021–22 [47]	League One	33	2	1	0	3	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	40	2
	2022–23 [48]	Championship	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
	2023–24 [49]	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		60	2	1	0	3	0	3	0	67	0
Career total			356	10	13	0	8	1	3	0	380	11

1. Appearances in EFL League One play-offs

International

As of match played 11 June 2024 ^[50]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2009	1	0
	2010	6	1
	2011	7	0
	2012	4	0
	2013	3	0
	2014	5	0
	2015	6	0
	2016	7	0
	2017	5	0
	2018	8	1
	2019	7	0
	2020	5	0
	2021	4	0
	2022	2	0
	2024	2	0
Total		72	2

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first. ^[50]

List of international goals scored by Corry Evans

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 September 2010	Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia	5	Slovenia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
2	18 November 2018	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	52	Austria	1–1	1–2	2018–19 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Blackburn Rovers

• EFL League One runner-up: 2017–18 ^[51]

Sunderland

• EFL League One play-offs: 2022 ^[52]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Blackburn Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 8. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
2. Bostock, Adam (1 April 2009). "Reserve Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
3. Hibbs, Ben (17 May 2009). "Vidic does the double". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
4. Hughes, Ian (24 May 2009). "Hull 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
5. Thompson, Gemma (9 July 2010). "Tour squad announced". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
6. Thompson, Gemma (16 July 2010). "Celtic 1 United 3". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
7. Thompson, Gemma (21 July 2010). "Philadelphia 0 United 1". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
8. "Carlisle sign Manchester United midfielder Corry Evans". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
9. "Evans joins Hull City on loan". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
10. "Reading 1–1 Hull". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
11. "Manchester United's Corry Evans to complete Hull move". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
12. "Ipswich 0–1 Hull". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
13. "City Win on the Road". Hull City. Hull City Official Website. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
14. "Hull 2–0 Leeds". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
15. "Corry Evans: Blackburn Rovers sign Hull City midfielder". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
16. "FULL TIME: Blackburn Rovers 4 Bolton Wanderers 1". Lancashire Telegraph. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
17. "Corry Evans: Blackburn Rovers midfielder agrees new deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
18. "Corry Evans a doubt for Blackburn Rovers' home clash with Reading". Lancashire Telegraph. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
19. "Blackburn midfielder Corry Evans set to miss rest of the season". Sky Sports. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
20. "Tony Mowbray confirms Corry Evans will leave Rovers this summer". Lancashire Telegraph. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
21. "Corry Evans: Sunderland sign Northern Ireland midfielder after Blackburn Rovers release". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
22. Hunter, James (4 August 2021). "Corry Evans appointed Sunderland captain". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
23. "Sunderland 1–2 Doncaster". BBC Sport . 5 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
24. "Evans and Dack to leave Sunderland". BBC Sport. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
25. "City Snap Up Evans". Bradford City. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
26. "Irish League quintet in NI squad". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
27. "Italy 3–0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
28. "Slovenia 0–1 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
29. "Corry makes the cut". Rovers. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
30. "Evans misses out as Northern Ireland lose opener". Rovers. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
31. "Evans' Euro exit". Rovers. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
32. Blackburn, Liam (10 November 2017). "Jonny Evans believes penalty decision against Northern Ireland is worse than Thierry Henry's infamous handball". The Independent . Retrieved 13 April 2018.
33. "Corry Evans carry statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
34. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
35. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
36. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
37. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
38. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
39. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
40. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
41. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
42. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
43. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
44. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
45. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
46. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
47. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
48. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
49. "Games played by Corry Evans in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
50. "Corry Evans statistics". National football teams. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
51. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 54–55. ISBN   978-1-4722-6106-9.
52. Paddy, Chris (21 May 2022). "Sunderland 2–0 Wycombe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2022.

External links

• Corry Evans at Soccerbase
• Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 August 2012) at irishfa.com
• Northern Ireland progile at NIFG
• Profile at archive.today (archived 12 January 2013) at redStat