Stephen Kingsley Explained

Stephen Kingsley
Fullname:Stephen Iain Kingsley[1]
Birth Date:23 July 1994
Birth Place:Stirling, Scotland
Position:Left-back, Centre-back
Currentclub:Heart of Midlothian
Clubnumber:3
Youthyears1:2004–2011
Youthclubs1:Falkirk
Years1:2011–2014
Clubs1:Falkirk
Caps1:88
Goals1:1
Years2:2014–2017
Clubs2:Swansea City
Caps2:17
Goals2:0
Years3:2015
Clubs3:Yeovil Town (loan)
Caps3:12
Goals3:0
Years4:2015
Clubs4:Crewe Alexandra (loan)
Caps4:12
Goals4:0
Years5:2017–2020
Clubs5:Hull City
Caps5:45
Goals5:0
Years6:2020–
Clubs6:Heart of Midlothian
Caps6:106
Goals6:11
Nationalyears1:2011–2012
Nationalteam1:Scotland U18
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2012–2013
Nationalteam2:Scotland U19
Nationalcaps2:6
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:2015–2016
Nationalteam3:Scotland U21
Nationalcaps3:6
Nationalgoals3:0
Nationalyears4:2016–
Nationalteam4:Scotland
Nationalcaps4:2
Nationalgoals4:0
Club-Update:20 May 2024 (UTC)
Nationalteam-Update:27 September 2022

Stephen Iain Kingsley (born 23 July 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for club Heart of Midlothian and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Falkirk, Swansea City, and Hull City, as well as appearing for Yeovil Town and Crewe Alexandra on loan.

Career

Falkirk

Aged 16, Kingsley made his first-team debut for Falkirk on 12 April 2011 in a 2–1 win versus Partick Thistle in the Scottish First Division.[2] He sustained an injury in a 2011–12 Scottish League Cup tie against Brechin City that kept him out of action for over three months. He returned to the starting lineup in a League Cup win against Dundee United. In March 2013, Kingsley signed a new contract with Falkirk.[3] Kingsley made his 100th appearance for Falkirk on 5 April 2014, in a 5–0 victory over Cowdenbeath. He was also voted in to the SPFL Championship Team of the Year for season 2013–14.

Swansea City

On 30 June 2014, Kingsley signed for Swansea City on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[4]

On 18 February 2015, Kingsley joined English League One side Yeovil Town on a month's emergency loan which was later extended until the end of the season.[5] Kingsley played in numerous positions in his 12 appearances for the Glovers including left-back, centre-back and midfield, and received praise for his versatility from Yeovil boss Terry Skiverton.[6] Yeovil were subsequently relegated to League Two at the end of the season and Kingsley returned to Swansea City.

Kingsley joined English League One side Crewe Alexandra on an emergency loan in August 2015.[7] He made 12 appearances for them before returning to Swansea after the emergency loan expired in November.

He made his Swansea City debut in their FA Cup 3–2 defeat away to Oxford United, on 10 January 2016.[8] He made his Premier League debut on 2 March 2016 in Swansea's 2–1 victory away to Arsenal.[9]

Hull City

Kingsley moved to Championship club Hull City in August 2017 for an undisclosed fee.[10] He was released by Hull at the end of the 2019–20 season.[11]

Heart of Midlothian

Kingsley signed a one-year contract with Hearts on 6 October 2020.[11] He played and scored for Hearts in the 2020 Scottish Cup Final, which finished 3–3 after extra time, but his effort in the subsequent penalty shootout was saved by Conor Hazard as Hearts lost 4–3 on penalties.[12]

On 21 January 2021, Kingsley signed an 18-month contract extension with Hearts, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2021–22 season. He further extended his Hearts stay in January 2022, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract and keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.[13] He then further extended his contract on 6 August 2024 with a new three-year contract until the summer of 2027.[14]

Kingsley quickly became known as an efficient taker of the direct free kick, scoring several long-range strikes for Hearts since joining.[15] He scored what proved to be the match-winning goal in the semi-final of the 2021–22 Scottish Cup – an Edinburgh derby against Hibernian – from a 30-yard free kick, albeit assisted with a wall pass from Liam Boyce.[16] [17]

International career

In April 2012 Kingsley was called up to the Scotland under-18 squad for two games against Serbia in Belgrade on the 17th and 19th of the month. He played 90 minutes in the first game, which ended 1–1, and 60 minutes in the second game, where Scotland won 4–1. In season 2012–13 he appeared for Scotland under-19s against Germany and the Netherlands. He was selected for the squad for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualification matches in October, playing in the third game against Switzerland. This was followed in March with an appearance in the friendly match against Sweden. In May he played in two of the Elite qualifying round games in Belgium against Belgium and Georgia. In March 2015, Kingsley made his Scotland under-21 debut in a 2–1 win against Hungary. This was followed up with four appearances for the side against France twice, Northern Ireland and Iceland in their Euro Championship Qualifying group.

On 20 May 2016, Kingsley received his first call-up to the Scotland national football team for their friendlies against Italy and France.[18] He made his Scotland debut as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat against France, on 4 June 2016.[19]

Kingsley was recalled to the national team squad in September 2022 as a replacement for the injured Kieran Tierney and Scott McKenna.[20] He appeared as a substitute in a goalless draw with Ukraine that secured a promotion for Scotland in the UEFA Nations League.[21]

Career statistics

[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Falkirk2010–11Scottish First Division3000000030
2011–12Scottish First Division15000101[23] 0170
2012–13Scottish First Division350402120431
2013–14Scottish Championship35110305[24] 0441
Total8815061801072
Swansea City2014–15Premier League00000000
2015–16Premier League40100050
2016–17Premier League1301000140
Total1702000190
Yeovil Town (loan)2014–15League One120000000120
Crewe Alexandra (loan)2015–16League One120000000120
Hull City2017–18[25] Championship1100000110
2018–19Championship2600010270
2019–20Championship80000080
Total4500010460
Heart of Midlothian2020–21Scottish Championship2042140265
2021–22Scottish Premiership3365150437
2022–23Scottish Premiership210300070310
2023–24Scottish Premiership321403040431
2024–25Scottish Premiership0000100010
Total1061114213011014413
Career total2801221220119034015

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland201610
202210
Total20

Honours

Falkirk

2012[26]

Heart of Midlothian

2020-21

Notes and References

  1. https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/record-results?search_type=people&dl_cat=statutory&dl_rec=statutory-births&surname=Kingsley&surname_so=exact&forename=Stephen&forename_so=starts&sex=M&from_year=1994&to_year=1994&county=STIRLING&record_type=stat_births Statutory registers - Births - Search results
  2. Web site: Partick Thistle 1–2 Falkirk . BBC Sport . 12 April 2011 . 19 August 2011.
  3. Web site: Pressley Delight at Contract Extensions . Falkirk FC . 4 March 2013 . 4 March 2013.
  4. Web site: Swans sign Falkirk youngster Kingsley . Swansea City A.F.C. . 30 June 2014 .
  5. Web site: Stephen Kingsley: Yeovil Town sign Swansea City defender . BBC Sport . 18 February 2015 . 18 February 2015 .
  6. Web site: Stephen Kingsley is Mr Versatile for Terry Skiverton at Yeovil Town . westerngazette.co.uk . 30 March 2015 . 7 May 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150720083358/http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/Stephen-Kingsley-Mr-Versatile-Terry-Skiverton/story-26253430-detail/story.html . 20 July 2015 . dmy-all .
  7. Web site: Crewe Alexandra: Liverpool winger Wilson & Swansea's Kingsley join . BBC Sport . 26 August 2015 . 6 May 2016 .
  8. Web site: Oxford United 3–2 Yeovil Town . BBC Sport . 10 January 2016 . 6 May 2016 .
  9. Web site: Arsenal 1–2 Swansea City . BBC Sport . 2 March 2016 . 6 May 2016 .
  10. Web site: Stephen Kingsley: Hull City sign Swansea City defender on three-year deal . BBC Sport . 23 August 2017 . 23 August 2017.
  11. Web site: Stephen Kingsley joins Hearts as free agent. BBC . BBC Sport. 6 October 2020. 6 October 2020.
  12. Web site: Celtic 3–3 Hearts. BBC Sport . 20 December 2020.
  13. Web site: Kingsley signs long-term contract Heart Of Midlothian Football Club. 2022-01-13. www.heartsfc.co.uk.
  14. Web site: Kingsley extends contract to 2027 – Hearts . 2024-08-06 . www.heartsfc.co.uk . en.
  15. Web site: Stephen Kingsley explains how he has mastered the art of free-kicks for Hearts. 2022-01-09. www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. en.
  16. https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/stephen-kingsley-admits-hearts-free-23714262 Stephen Kingsley admits Hearts free-kick change of plan that led to stunning Hampden winner vs Hibs
  17. https://news.stv.tv/sport/stephen-kingsley-reveals-set-piece-plan-after-netting-hampden-winner Kingsley reveals set-piece plan after netting Hampden winner
  18. Web site: Scotland call up Stephen Kingsley and Jack Hamilton . BBC Sport . 20 May 2016 . 23 May 2016.
  19. Web site: France 3–0 Scotland . BBC Sport . 4 June 2016 . 5 June 2016 .
  20. Web site: Hearts duo Barrie McKay and Stephen Kingsley called up to Scotland squad as trio drop out . STV News . Peter . Cassidy . 25 September 2022 . 28 September 2022.
  21. Web site: Outstanding Ryan Porteous debut helps Scotland secure Euro 2024 play-off . Edinburgh Evening News . Phil . Johnson . 27 September 2022 . 28 September 2022.
  22. Web site: Stephen Kingsley Stats . Soccerway . 2 March 2016.
  23. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  24. Four appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs, one appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  25. Note that Soccerbase currently does not show the appearance v match v Bolton, they list only ten appearances.
  26. Web site: Falkirk 1–0 Hamilton Accies . BBC Sport . 1 April 2012 . 6 May 2016 .