![]() Simons Playing for Chesterfield in 2016 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rai Quinton Arthur Simons[1] | ||
Date of birth | 11 January 1996 | ||
Place of birth | Hamilton, Bermuda | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
North Village Rams | |||
Newcastle Town | |||
Ilkeston FC | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013 | Newcastle Town | ||
2013–2015 | Ilkeston | 22 | (1) |
2015–2017 | Chesterfield | 39 | (4) |
2018– | North Village Rams | ||
International career‡ | |||
20??–20?? | Bermuda U17 | ||
2013 | English Colleges U17 | ||
201?–201? | Bermuda U20 | ||
2013– | Bermuda | 6 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:17, 27 December 2016 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 5 June 2016 (UTC) |
Rai Quinton Arthur Simons (born 11 January 1996) is a Bermudian professional footballer who plays as a striker. He has been capped six times, and scored one goal for the Bermuda national team in FIFA recognised matches. He was joint-top goal scorer at the 2013 Island Games Men's Football Tournament with three goals.
Club career
[edit]Simons started his career at North Village Rams as a youth player.[2] At the age 15, Simons had trials and spent a week training with Premier League club West Ham United,[2] before he eventually signed for Newcastle Town.[3] He was part of the Newcastle Town under-18 team that won the Sentinel Cup in a record 8–1 win over Alsager Town at the Britannia Stadium, scoring with an "unstoppable shot" having replaced Callum Kenny in the 57th minute as a substitute.[4]
He went on to join English Northern Premier League club Ilkeston in summer 2013,[5] signing a two-year contract with the club.[6] During his time at Ilkeston, Simons played for both the academy and first team sides, before attracting interest from a number of Football League clubs.[7] He was a key member of the Ilkeston team which reached the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off final in the 2014–15 season.[8]
In April 2015, it was announced that Simons had joined League One club Chesterfield.[8][9][10] He scored his first Chesterfield goal in a pre-season friendly against his former club Ilkeston, which had been arranged as part of the transfer deal.[5] Simons made his professional debut on 26 September 2015 as a 66th-minute substitute in Chesterfield's 2–1 home defeat to Burton Albion.[11] He scored his first professional goal on 10 October in Chesterfield's 3–1 home defeat to Gillingham.[11]
International career
[edit]Simons played for Bermuda under-17's in their unsuccessful 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship qualifying campaign in July 2012.[12]
Whilst studying as a student at Newcastle-under-Lyme College, Simons was selected to represent the English Colleges under-17's in January 2013 at the Caput Mundi Tournament in Italy.[13]
Simons went on to represent Bermuda, the only FIFA affiliated side at the 2013 Island Games. Bermuda went on to win men's football tournament, with a 1–0 win over Greenland on 15 July 2013 at Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton.[14] Simons scored three goals during the competition, leaving him as joint-top goal scorer along with five other players.[15]
In April 2015, he was then called up to the Bermuda under-20's squad for their 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying campaign.[10] He scored a hat-trick in the group match against Guadeloupe under-20's on 24 June 2014 at Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal.[16][17]
Simons was called up and made his full international debut for Bermuda against Grenada, in a FIFA sanctioned match, on 7 March 2015 in a friendly.[18] The match finished 2–2, with Simons scoring on his debut before being substituted in the 81st minute for Antwan Russell.[12][19] Following his success in two friendlies against Grenada, Simons was called up again to face the Bahamas in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification first round matches.[2] He played in both matches, with Bermuda winning 8–0 on aggregate.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Simons moved to England when he was 15 and stayed with his cousin, Dale Eve and sister, Taylor in Stoke-on-Trent where he attended school.[3] His mother is Karen Simons and his father, Arthur Simons was also a footballer who played as a left-back for North Village Rams.[3]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 17 April 2017
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Ilkeston | 2013–14[20][21][22] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
2014–15[23][24][25] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 7[b] | 3 | 22 | 4 | ||
Total | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 3 | 32 | 4 | |||
Chesterfield | 2015–16[11] | League One | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 22 | 5 |
2016–17[26] | League One | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
Total | 39 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
Career total | 61 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 78 | 9 |
- ^ Appearance(s) in Derbyshire Senior Cup
- ^ Four appearances in Northern Premier League Challenge Cup; three appearances three goals in Derbyshire Senior Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
International
[edit]- Scores and results list Bermuda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Simons goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 March 2015 | National Sports Centre, Hamilton, Bermuda | ![]() |
1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
References
[edit]- ^ "Retained List 2015–16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Simons selected for World Cup Qualifier". Ilkeston F.C. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ a b c Trott, Lawrence (24 April 2015). "Football comes first for Simons family". The Royal Gazette. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Newcastle Town the Sentinel goal kings". Stoke Sentinel. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Rai Simons". Full Contact. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Rai Simons Signs 2 Year Deal With Ilkeston FC". Bernews. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Wright, Stephen (22 May 2014). "Opportunity knocks for Ilkeston striker Simons". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Simons signs for Spireites". Ilkeston F.C. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Robins' Rai seals Chesterfield move". Ilkeston Advertiser. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Rai Simons Signs With Chesterfield FC". Bernews. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Rai Simons in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ a b c "Bermuda – R. Simons". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "English Colleges U17s National Team travel to Italy". English Colleges Football Association. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Football: Men's Football". NatWest Island Games. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Football Statistics". NatWest Island Games. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Simons hits three in World Cup Qualifier". Ilkeston F.C. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Wright, Stephen (25 June 2014). "Bermuda survive scare as Simons hits hat-trick". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Trott, Lawrence (5 March 2015). "Bean out of Grenada games". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Bermuda vs. Grenada 2–2". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "2013/14". www.ilsonfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016.
- ^ "Home". www.ilsonfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016.
- ^ Duffy, Mark (30 April 2014). "Report/slideshow - DSC Final: Ilkeston FC 2-0 Glossop NE". Ilkeston Advertiser. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019.
- ^ "The Evo-Stik Statistics". Ilkeston FC Official Matchday Magazine. No. 6. 15 August 2015. p. 23.
- ^ "2014/15". www.ilsonfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016.
- ^ "Ilkeston FC on Twitter". Twitter. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Rai Simons in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
External links
[edit]- Rai Simons at Soccerbase
- Rai Simons at National-Football-Teams.com
- Chesterfield profile