Preston Edwards

Preston Edwards

Edwards playing for Dulwich Hamlet in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Preston Matthew Edwards [1]
Date of birth	(1989-09-05) 5 September 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth	Cheshunt, England [2]
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Dulwich Hamlet
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2009	Millwall	1	(0)
2009	→ Dover Athletic (loan)	13	(0)
2009–2010	Grays Athletic	20	(0)
2010–2016	Ebbsfleet United	174	(0)
2015–2016	→ Boreham Wood (loan)	6	(0)
2016	→ Dulwich Hamlet (loan)	12	(0)
2016–2020	Dulwich Hamlet	123	(0)
2020	→ Cheshunt (loan)	2	(0)
2020	Dartford	0	(0)
2020	Brentwood Town	3	(0)
2020–2022	Braintree Town	12	(0)
2022–2023	Cheshunt	14	(0)
2023	Potters Bar Town	10	(0)
2023–	Dulwich Hamlet	0	(0)
International career
2006	England U17	1	(0)
2006	England U18	1	(0)
2011	England C	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:05, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Preston Matthew Edwards (born 5 September 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Dulwich Hamlet.

Club career

On 4 September 2007, Edwards made his first professional appearance for Millwall when coming on as a sub against Swansea City in the Football League Trophy first round.

In January 2009, he joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Dover Athletic on loan after an injury to the club's first-choice goalkeeper, John Whitehouse. He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against local rivals Ramsgate. Whilst at Dover Athletic, he helped them secure the title and promotion to the Conference South. On 22 June 2009, he rejected a new one-year deal from Millwall, and was therefore out of contract and released. ^[3]

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Edwards signed for Grays Athletic along with eight other players. ^[4] On 24 March 2010, Edwards played in a behind closed doors reserve match for Crystal Palace against Millwall. ^[5] He was released at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Edwards signed for Ebbsfleet United on 28 July 2010, after a successful trial period. ^[6]

He became a YouTube sensation in February 2011, racking up over eight million views (as of late June 2014), after being sent off just ten seconds into a 3–0 defeat to Farnborough. ^[7] This is believed to be a record for a goalkeeper. ^[8] Despite this setback, Preston became a fan favourite amongst club fans and a key asset for the club. After promotion, Preston asserted himself as Ebbsfleet number one before an ankle injury cut his season short. Despite the club finishing second bottom of the Conference Premier in the 2012–13 season, Edwards drew praise from many^{[ citation needed ]} for his performances throughout the season and went on to dominate the club's end of season awards ceremony, winning a large majority of the trophies on offer including the Players player of the year and the Fans player of the year award. Although it was rumoured^{[ citation needed ]} that his services were wanted by John Still, the recently appointed manager of Luton Town, Edwards signed a new contract with the club, keeping him on for the 2013–14 season.

Edwards continued as the club's first-choice goalkeeper for the 2013–14 season and was kept on for the 2014-15 campaign. During that season, his spot as the club's first choice goalkeeper was challenged by Brandon Hall. Manager Jamie Day brought him back into the team for the FA Trophy clash with Forest Green Rovers on 10 January in which he helped secure a 1–0 win. Edwards made his 200th appearance for the club in the 2–2 draw with Hemel Hempstead Town in late February.

Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Edwards joined newly promoted National League side Boreham Wood on a season-long loan deal. ^[9] However the deal was cut short with Edwards making only six league appearances, and he went on to join Isthmian League Premier Division side Dulwich Hamlet on loan on 20 February 2016 for the remainder of the season. ^[10]

With his contract at Ebbsfleet expiring, Edwards signed for Dulwich Hamlet ahead of the 2016–17 season, ^[11] going on to make 66 appearances in all competitions in his first full season at the club.

In January 2022, Edwards returned to Cheshunt having spent time with the club on loan in 2020. ^[12] At the end of the season, he signed for Potters Bar Town. ^[13]

On 7 October 2023, Edwards' return to Dulwich Hamlet was announced. ^[14]

International career

In October 2010 Edwards was called up to the England C team for the first time. ^[15]

Family

His sister Steph reached the final of the 2013 series of Britain's Got Talent as part of the band Luminites. ^[16]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 September 2023

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
Millwall	2007–08 [17]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	2	0
	2008–09 [17]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
Dover Athletic (loan)	2008–09	Isthmian League Premier Division	13	0	—		—		—		13	0
Grays Athletic	2009–10 [18]	Conference Premier	20	0	0	0	—		0	0	20	0
Ebbsfleet United	2010–11 [18]	Conference South	41	0	3	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	46	0
	2011–12 [18]	Conference Premier	31	0	1	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	35	0
	2012–13 [18]	Conference Premier	43	0	2	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	46	0
	2013–14 [18]	Conference South	44	0	2	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	49	0
	2014–15 [18]	Conference South	15	0	0	0	—		4 [lower-alpha 2]	0	19	0
	2015–16 [18]	National League South	0	0	—		—		0	0	0	0
	Total		174	0	8	0	—		13	0	195	0
Boreham Wood (loan)	2015–16 [18]	National League	6	0	1	0	—		0	0	7	0
Dulwich Hamlet (loan)	2015–16 [19]	Isthmian League Premier Division	12	0	—		—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	14	0
Dulwich Hamlet	2016–17 [20]	Isthmian League Premier Division	44	0	2	0	—		17 [lower-alpha 4]	0	63	0
	2017–18 [21]	Isthmian League Premier Division	34	0	2	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	39	0
	2018–19 [18]	National League South	40	0	2	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	45	0
	2019–20 [18]	National League South	5	0	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	7	0
	Total		123	0	6	0	—		25	0	154	0
Cheshunt (loan)	2019–20 [22]	Isthmian League Premier Division	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
Dartford	2019–20 [18]	National League South	0	0	—		—		0	0	0	0
Brentwood Town	2020–21 [23]	Isthmian League North Division	3	0	3	0	—		0	0	6	0
Braintree Town	2020–21 [18]	National League South	6	0	—		—		0	0	6	0
	2021–22 [18]	National League South	6	0	1	0	—		0	0	7	0
	Total		12	0	1	0	—		0	0	13	0
Cheshunt	2021–22 [24]	Isthmian League Premier Division	18	0	—		—		5 [lower-alpha 6]	0	23	0
	2022–23 [18] [25]	National League South	14	0	1	0	—		0	0	15	0
	Total		32	0	1	0	—		5	0	38	0
Potters Bar Town	2023–24 [26]	Isthmian League Premier Division	10	0	1	0	—		0	0	11	0
Career total			408	0	21	0	0	0	46	0	475	0

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
3. Appearance(s) in Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs
4. Five appearances in Alan Turvey Trophy, ten in FA Trophy, two in Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs
5. One appearance in Alan Turvey Trophy, two in FA Trophy
6. One appearance in the FA Trophy, two in the Alan Turvey Trophy, two in the Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs

Honours

Ebbsfleet United

Conference South play-off winners: 2010–2011

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/10/2009 and 31/10/2009" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2012.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN   978-1-84596-324-8.
3. "Edwards leaves Lions". Sky Sports. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
4. "Grays sign nine players in a day". BBC Sport. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
5. "Crystal Palace Res. 2-1 Millwall Res". Crystal Palace FC. 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
6. "The new Fleet number one". Ebbsfleet FC. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
7. "Youtube video of the incident" . Retrieved 15 February 2011.
8. "BBC Sport article". BBC Sport. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
9. "Wood Bring England C Keeper in on Loan". 17 July 2015.
10. "Edwards Joins on Loan" . Retrieved 20 February 2016.
11. "Edwards Arrives For Keeps" . Retrieved 30 May 2016.
12. "FA Trophy 4th Round Report". cheshuntfc.com. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
13. "Edwards signs". Potters Bar Town F.C. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
14. "Welcome Home Preston Edwards". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
15. "Fleet stopper gets England call-up". Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
16. "You'll Need Some Talent to Impress Edwards!", The Non-League Paper , p. 19, 9 June 2013
17. "Games played by Preston Edwards in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
18. "P. Edwards". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
19. "Dulwich Hamlet – Appearances – Preston Edwards – 2015-2016". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
20. "Dulwich Hamlet – Appearances – Preston Edwards – 2016-2017". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
21. "Dulwich Hamlet – Appearances – Preston Edwards – 2017-2018". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
22. "Cheshunt – Appearances – Preston Edwards – 2019-2020". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
23. "Brentwood Town – Appearances – Preston Edwards". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
24. "Cheshunt – Appearances – Preston Edwards". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
25. For FA Cup Second Qualifying Round: "Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round – Cheshunt 3 - 1 St Neots Town". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
26. "Potters Bar Town – Appearances – Preston Edwards". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

External links

• Preston Edwards at Soccerbase
• Preston Edwards at Dulwich Hamlet F.C.