Ben McKenna (footballer)

Benjamin James McKenna (born 16 January 1993) is an English-born Northern Irish footballer who plays for Spennymoor Town. He plays as a midfielder.

Ben McKenna

Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-01-16) 16 January 1993
Place of birth	Burnley, England
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Spennymoor Town
Youth career
2001–2009	Burnley
2009–2010	Carlisle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Carlisle United	2	(0)
2012	→ Annan Athletic (loan)	14	(0)
2013–2014	Workington	44	(4)
2014–2016	Stalybridge Celtic	76	(6)
2016	→ Ashton United (loan)	3	(0)
2016	Bradford Park Avenue	20	(3)
2016–2017	Southport	21	(3)
2017–2018	Stockport County	23	(3)
2018	Curzon Ashton	13	(3)
2018–2019	Bradford Park Avenue	21	(5)
2019	Chester	9	(1)
2019–	Spennymoor Town	25	(3)
National team
2009–2010	Northern Ireland U17	4	(0)
2010–2011	Northern Ireland U18	2	(0)
2011–2012	Northern Ireland U19	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:54, 29 April 2019 (UTC)

Early life

McKenna was born in Burnley, Lancashire. He attended Blessed Trinity RC College in the town.[1] He started off at Burnley's academy, but after being released by his hometown club, McKenna joined Carlisle United on a two-year YTS contract.

Career

Club

Carlisle United and loans

After impressive performances in the youth and reserve teams, McKenna got called up to the first team squad and made his senior debut for Carlisle United in a 6–0 FA Cup first round victory against Tipton Town in November 2010, as a 46th-minute substitute[2] McKenna made his League debut in February 2011, during a 1–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday as a 79th-minute substitute.[3] On 12 January 2012, he joined Scottish Third Division side Annan Athletic on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.[4] On 3 May 2012, Carlisle United announced that McKenna's contract would not be renewed at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Workington

After having an unsuccessful trial with League Two side Accrington Stanley in January 2013 McKenna joined Workington Reds on 4 March 2013 for the remainder of the 2012–2013 season.

Stalybridge Celtic

Between June 2014 and May 2016 he played for Stalybridge Celtic.[5]

Bradford Park Avenue

In the summer of 2016 he joined Bradford Park Avenue.[6]

Southport

In November 2016 he joined Southport.[7]

Stockport County

He then joined Stockport County.[8]

Curzon Ashton

McKenna left Stockport County in February 2018 to join fellow National League North side, Curzon Ashton.[9]

Bradford Park Avenue (second spell)

In June 2018 he returned to Bradford Park Avenue for a second spell with the club.[10]

Chester

In January 2019 he joined Chester from league rivals Bradford Park Avenue.[11]

International

McKenna has been capped for Northern Ireland at under-17 under-18 and under-19 level.[12]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 December 2017

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Carlisle United	2010–11[13]	League One	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Annan Athletic (loan)	2011–12[14]	Scottish Third Division	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Workington	2012–13[15]	Conference North	5	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
	2013–14[15]		39	4	1	0	—		0	0	40	4
	Workington total		44	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	45	4
Stalybridge Celtic	2014–15[15]	Conference North	41	5	0	0	—		0	0	41	5
	2015–16[15]	National League North	23	1	2	0	—		0	0	25	1
	Stalybridge total		64	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	66	6
Bradford Park Avenue	2016–17[15]	National League North	19	3	0	0	—		0	0	19	3
Southport	2016–17[15]	National League	19	2	0	0	—		2[lower-alpha 1]	0	21	2
Stockport County	2017–18[15]	National League North	15	0	0	0	—		0	0	15	0
Career total			176	15	4	0	0	0	2	0	182	15

1. Appearances in the FA Trophy

References

1. Burnley Express Accessed 2011
2. "Carlisle 6–0 Tipton Town". BBC Sport. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
3. "Carlisle 0–1 Sheff Wed". BBC Sport. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
4. "Player Update". annanathleticfc.co.uk. Annan Athletic F.C. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
5. http://www.stalybridgeceltic.co.uk/play.php?code=MCKEB
6. https://www.facebook.com/BPAFCOfficial/posts/1218458704830945
7. https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14914100.bradford-park-avenue-winger-mckenna-joins-southport
8. https://www.stockportcounty.com/county-sign-winger-mckenna-ahead-new-campaign/
9. https://www.curzon-ashton.co.uk/news/post/ben-mckenna-signs-from-county
10. https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/23210/bradford-pa-sign-midfielder-ben-mckenna/
11. https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/chester_fc/17369717.chester-sign-ben-mckenna-from-national-league-north-promotion-rivals-bradford-park-avenue/
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/carlisle_united/9454573.stm
13. "Games played by Ben McKenna in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
14. "Games played by Ben McKenna in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
15. Ben McKenna at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 December 2017.

External links

• Ben McKenna at Soccerbase