Alfie Kilgour Explained

Alfie Kilgour
Fullname:Alfie George Alexander Kilgour[1]
Birth Date:18 May 1998[2]
Birth Place:Bath, England
Height:1.9m (06.2feet)[3]
Currentclub:Mansfield Town
Clubnumber:5
Position:Central defender
Youthyears1:2006–2016
Youthclubs1:Bristol Rovers
Years1:2016–2023
Clubs1:Bristol Rovers
Caps1:91
Goals1:4
Years2:2016
Clubs2:Mangotsfield United (loan)
Caps2:10
Goals2:1
Years3:2016
Clubs3:Cirencester Town (loan)
Caps3:7
Goals3:1
Years4:2018
Clubs4:Hungerford Town (loan)
Caps4:9
Goals4:1
Years5:2018–2019
Clubs5:Maidenhead United (loan)
Caps5:17
Goals5:3
Years6:2023–
Clubs6:Mansfield Town
Caps6:24
Goals6:4
Club-Update:4 May 2024

Alfie George Alexander Kilgour (born 18 May 1998) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for club Mansfield Town.

Career

Bristol Rovers

Kilgour began his career in the academy at Bristol Rovers aged eight,[4] and first featured in the matchday squad for the first team while still an under-18, twice appearing as an unused substitute for EFL League Two games in the 2015–16 season. In February 2016, Kilgour was loaned to Mangotsfield United. After promotion that season, with first team opportunities hard to come by, he was loaned out again, this time to Cirencester Town in September 2016. In December 2016, during a Gloucestershire Senior Cup tie, Kilgour suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a detached hamstring, leaving him needing surgery.[5] In March 2018, he joined Hungerford Town on loan.

In November 2018, Kilgour joined Maidenhead United on loan and made his debut in their televised FA Cup game at home to Portsmouth. In January 2019, his loan was extended until the end of the season.[6] After 19 games and three goals in all competitions, Kilgour was recalled by Rovers in March to boost their defensive options.[7] He made his debut on 12 March when he came on as a late substitute in a 1–0 away win at Gillingham.[8] His first start came eleven days later, playing the entirety of a 2–2 draw away at Plymouth Argyle.[9] At the end of the 2018–19 season, Kilgour was given the award of Bristol Rovers Development Squad Player of the Season. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Bristol Rovers exercised a contract extension for him.[10] He signed a new contract in August 2019.[11]

He scored his first goal for the club in an EFL Trophy tie against Leyton Orient on 4 December 2019.[12] On 15 February 2020, Kilgour scored his second league goal for the club with a thirty yard screamer to equalise in a 2–1 victory over Blackpool, a goal that would win League One goal of the month for February 2020.

On 4 July 2020, Kilgour signed another new contract with Rovers that would see him stay at the club until the end of the 2022-23 season after having a breakthrough season that saw him make 45 appearances in all competitions before the season was cut short.[13]

On 2 October 2021, Kilgour received the first red card of his career as he was dismissed for a handball in the penalty area that the referee deemed worthy of a second yellow card. Swindon Town dispatched the penalty with just five minutes remaining to go into a 2–1 lead that they eventually added another goal to.[14] Kilgour made his 100th appearance for the club on 16 October 2021, marking it with his first goal of the 2021–22 season to make it 1–1 in an eventual 2–2 draw at Bradford City.[15] In November, Kilgour suffered a knee injury in a 2–2 draw with Tranmere Rovers, having to undergo surgery.[16] Kilgour returned to action in January 2022, playing the entirety of a 2–0 victory over Hartlepool United[17] however suffered an adverse reaction in the days following. In March 2022, manager Joey Barton confirmed that Kilgour had undergone a second knee surgery for the season after they had identified the root cause of the issue and that the defender was likely to miss the rest of the season.[18]

Mansfield Town

On 12 January 2023, Kilgour signed for League Two club Mansfield Town for an undisclosed fee on an eighteen-month contract, bringing his seventeen year association with Bristol Rovers to an end.[19] [20] Alfie scored on his full debut for Mansfield with a half volley from 16 yards which saw the Stags beat Doncaster Rovers 4-1 at Field Mill. [21] His impressive start to life at Mansfield continued across the second half of the season, winning the club's player of the month award for three successive months between February and April 2023.[22] [23] [24]

On 15 August 2023, Kilgour was stretchered off just seventeen minutes into a 2–2 draw with Doncaster Rovers,[25] revealed to be a ruptured achilles that would rule him out for the remainder of the season.[26] In January 2024, he signed a new eighteen-month contract extension to keep him at the club until June 2025.[27]

Career statistics

ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionApps GoalsApps GoalsApps GoalsApps GoalsApps Goals
Bristol Rovers2015–16League Two0000000000
2016–17League One0000000000
2017–18League One0000000000
2018–19League One4000000040
2019–20League One33260204[28] 1453
2020–21League One351311050442
2021–22League Two111101010141
2022–23League One80001031121
Total914101501321197
Mangotsfield United (loan)2015–16Southern D1 South & West1010000101
Cirencester Town (loan)2016–17Southern Premier70101[29] 191
Hungerford Town (loan)2017–18National League South91000091
Maidenhead United (loan)2018–19National League1731010193
Career total13591215014316513

Honours

Bristol Rovers

Mansfield Town

Individual

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CLUB LIST OF REGISTERED PLAYERS AS AT 20th MAY 2017. EFL. 2017-06-08. 2017-08-29.
  2. Web site: Alfie Kilgour. worldfootball.net . HEIM:SPIEL . 24 April 2020.
  3. Web site: Alfie Kilgour . Bristol Rovers F.C. . 6 October 2022.
  4. https://www.footballinbracknell.co.uk/features/interviews/46801/how-alfie-kilgour-made-it-at-bristol-rovers-after-maidenhead-united-loan/ How a Maidenhead United loan spell turned Alfie Kilgour into a Bristol Rovers staple
  5. Web site: INJURY UPDATE: ALFIE KILGOUR. www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 December 2016. 11 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Alfie Kilgour Maidenhead Loan Extended. www.bristolrovers.co.uk.
  7. Web site: Why Alfie Kilgour has returned to Bristol Rovers. John. Evely. 8 March 2019. bristolpost.
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47450393 Gillingham 0–1 Bristol Rovers
  9. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47592873 Plymouth Argyle 2–2 Bristol Rovers
  10. Web site: Bristol Rovers: Chris Lines heads list of nine players to leave League One club. 8 May 2019. 9 May 2019. BBC Sport.
  11. Web site: Alfie Kilgour: Bristol Rovers centre-back signs new contract. 28 August 2019. BBC Sport. 29 August 2019.
  12. Web site: REPORT: Bristol Rovers 1-1 Leyton Orient (4-2 on pens) . 4 December 2019 . leytonorient.com . 5 December 2019.
  13. Web site: Alfie Kilgour: Bristol Rovers defender extends deal until 2023. BBC Sport. 4 July 2020.
  14. Web site: Bristol Rovers 1–3 Swindon Town. BBC Sport. 2 October 2021. 18 October 2021.
  15. Web site: Bradford City 2–2 Bristol Rovers. BBC Sport. 16 October 2021. 18 October 2021.
  16. Web site: Bristol Rovers learn extent of Alfie Kilgour injury as defender undergoes knee surgery. Bristol Post. Frost. Sam. 25 November 2021. 8 March 2022.
  17. Web site: Bristol Rovers 2–0 Hartlepool United. BBC Sport. 15 January 2022. 8 March 2022.
  18. Web site: Bristol Rovers defender could miss the rest of the season after second surgery. Bristol Post. Frost. Sam. 7 March 2022. 8 March 2022.
  19. Web site: Alfie Kilgour leaves Rovers for Mansfield Town. www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 12 January 2023. 12 January 2023.
  20. Web site: Stags land centre-back. www.mansfieldtown.net. 12 January 2023. 12 January 2023.
  21. Web site: Mansfield 4-1 Doncaster: Lucas Akins, Will Swan score in Town rout. www.skysports.com. 28 January 2023. 1 February 2023.
  22. Web site: Defender voted February's Player of the Month. www.mansfieldtown.net. 1 March 2023. 16 August 2023.
  23. Web site: Kilgour wins monthly award. www.mansfieldtown.net. 29 March 2023. 16 August 2023.
  24. Web site: Kilgour named POTM for April. www.mansfieldtown.net. 5 May 2023. 16 August 2023.
  25. Web site: Doncaster Rovers 2–2 Mansfield Town. BBC Sport. 15 August 2023. 16 August 2023.
  26. Web site: Alfie Kilgour ruled out for the season. www.mansfieldtown.net. 16 August 2023. 16 August 2023.
  27. Web site: Stalwart defender signs new contract. www.mansfieldtown.net. 15 January 2024. 15 January 2024.
  28. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  29. Appearances in FA Trophy
  30. Web site: Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win. BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. 9 May 2022.
  31. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2024/april/boss-character-was-central-to-promotion/
  32. Web site: End of Season Awards Winners. www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 10 April 2019. 2 January 2021. 9 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200809225812/https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/2019/april/10.4.19-end-of-season-awards/. dead.
  33. Web site: Goal of the Month winners: February. www.efl.com. 30 March 2020. 2 January 2021.