Youth career
He joined the Liverpool Academy in 1996 aged 8, and worked his way up through the club's youth teams. In 2005–06 he won the FA Youth Cup for the first time as a 17-year-old when Liverpool beat Manchester City 3–2 on aggregate, finishing the competition as Liverpools leading goal scorer in the competition. In 2006–07, he scored 3 goals, including 2 in front of the Kop at Anfield in the 7–3 aggregate score against Newcastle in the semi-final of the 2006–07 FA Youth Cup to secure a place in Liverpool's second consecutive final appearance [8]
In the final they faced archrivals Manchester United. He scored the opener in the first leg which they lost 2–1. [9] In the return leg, held at Old Trafford on 26 April 2007, Liverpool won 4–3 on penalties when the score stood at 2–2 on aggregate after extra time. Craig scored the second penalty in the penalty shoot-out at the Stretford End, bringing his goal tally to 12 in 12 Youth Cup games. [10]
Senior career
Liverpool
In the summer of 2006 he was promoted from the academy to the first team squad. On 22 July 2006, he made his debut for Liverpool's senior team in a pre-season friendly against Crewe. He scored the only goal when Robbie Fowler back heeled the ball into his path and it was dispatched by him left footed into the top corner of the net as the Reds triumphed 1–0.
He was a member of Liverpool's 2008 Dallas Cup winning side, returning from the US as the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals. [11] In July 2009 he had a double hernia operation and on 11 August 2009 his contract with Liverpool was terminated by mutual consent [12]
Loan spells
On 1 November 2007 he joined Notts County on a month's loan, [13] and on 3 November 2007 he scored 23 minutes into his league debut against Accrington Stanley which ended in a 2–0 win to the Magpies. [14] He made seven appearances before returning to Liverpool at the end of the loan period. [15] [16]
On 18 January 2008 he returned to League Two when he joined Chester City in a one-month loan deal. [17] His debut for the club came as a substitute the following day, in a 1–0 loss to his former loan club Notts County, [18] with his final game coming against the same opponents the following month. [19] He then returned to Liverpool.
On 22 August 2008 he joined AFC Bournemouth on an initial one-month loan deal [20] and on 30 August on his full debut he scored against Port Vale. [21] His loan was extended until the end of 2008. [22]
In January 2009 he gained further Football League experience when he went on loan to Accrington Stanley, [23] where he scored his first goal for the club on 28 February in a league match against Aldershot Town. [24] and he scored his second goal for the club on 21 March 2009 in league match against Exeter City. [25]
Macclesfield Town
He subsequently had trials with Carlisle United [26] and Morecambe [27] before training with Accrington Stanley and later with Macclesfield Town [28] and an impressive trial at Macclesfield offered Linfield a contract and he joined Macclesfield Town in December 2009 on a short-term deal, [29] scoring first goal for the Silkmen in a 2–2 draw on his home debut against Morecambe on 26 January 2010 [30] After some impressive performances his contract was extended until the end of the season on 26 February 2010. [31] On 13 March 2010, Linfield scored his second goal for the Silkmen in a 2–0 win over Bury. [32] At the end of the 2009–10 campaign, He was released by the club, along with ten other players at the end of the 2009–10 season. [33]
Accrington Stanley
He re-signed for Accrington Stanley in June 2010 on a one-year contract. [34] His first goal for Stanley in his second spell with the club came on 10 August 2010 when he scored the extra-time winning goal in a League Cup match to knock Doncaster Rovers out of the competition. [35]
After suffering a knee injury in late August, on 26 November 2010 he signed a short-term loan deal with Kidderminster Harriers in an attempt to gain match fitness. [36] He made his debut for the club on 30 November in a Football Conference match against York City where he came on for the last 12 minutes. [37] All subsequent football league games were postponed due to the weather and he returned to Accrington on 23 December 2010. [38]
In the 2011–12 season he scored for the club as Accrington Stanley beat Dagenham & Redbridge 3–0 and received the man of the match from the sponsors. [39] His second goal came when Accrington Stanley beat Wimbledon 2–0. [40] His third league goal for the club as Accrington Stanley beat Macclesfield Town 4–0. [41] His fourth league goal for the club as Accrington Stanley beat Northampton Town 2–1. [42]
He finished the last six games of the season as right back due to a shortage of defenders through injuries and suspensions and received high praise from his manager Paul Cook for the performances that he put in during that period. He was rewarded with a new one-year contract and signed on 3 May 2012.
Chester
On 29 May 2013, Chester announced the signing of Lindfield after his Accrington contract came to an end. [43]
FC United of Manchester
On 30 June 2014, FC United of Manchester announced the signing of Lindfield after joining from Chester FC. [44] On 4 March 2016 Lindfield was loaned out to Ashton United in a month long deal. The deal got extended on 4 April 2016 until the end of the season. [45]
Marine
Lindfield signed for Marine on 23 July 2016. [46]
FC United of Manchester (second spell)
In July 2017 he re-joined FC United of Manchester having played a number of pre-season friendlies for the club, scoring four goals. [48]
Marine (second spell)
In July 2019 he rejoined Marine.
Colwyn Bay
In January 2022 he moved to Cymru North club Colwyn Bay. During his time with Colwyn Bay, Craig helped the team achieve promotion to the Cymru Premier for the first time in the clubs history. Craig also scored 2 goals in the Welsh Blood Service League Cup final in a 3-1 win over Porthmadog F.C helping secure a league and cup double for the club. [54]
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