Mark Kearney
Mark James Kearney (born 12 June 1962) is an English retired footballer who played in The Football League for Mansfield Town and Bury.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark James Kearney | ||
| Date of birth | 12 June 1962 | ||
| Place of birth | Ormskirk, England | ||
| Playing position(s) | Winger/Full-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1983 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
| 1983–1991 | Mansfield Town | 250 | (29) |
| 1991–1994 | Bury | 113 | (5) |
| 1994–1997 | Telford United | 109 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Kearney was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, and began his career at Everton. However, he never played in a competitive fixture for Everton, and joined Mansfield on a free transfer in March 1983. He made his debut for the Stags on 19 March 1983 against Colchester United. He was a versatile player who could play on the left wing, as left-back or in midfield. He also became Mansfield's penalty-taker when John Dungworth left the club in 1984.
He was a member of the Mansfield side that got promoted from Division Four in 1986, and he was also a member of the side that won the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1987. As the club's regular penalty-taker, Kearney scored the first goal in the penalty shootout, and also scored the winning goal from the penalty spot when Mansfield won against Middlesbrough in the quarter-final of the same competition.[1]
In total, Kearney played 303 first-team games and scored 37 goals for Mansfield before leaving the club to join Bury in January 1991. He spent three years at Gigg Lane, playing just over a hundred games for the club before being released on a free transfer at the end of the 1993-94 season. He then joined non-league Telford United, who were managed by his former Mansfield teammate George Foster, as player-coach, spending three seasons at Telford before retiring from football in 1997.
Since his retirement from football, Kearney has had coaching jobs at Mansfield, Shrewsbury Town, Northampton Town and Derby County.[1]
References
- Bracegirdle, Dave & Hartshorn, Steve (2004). The Legends of Mansfield Town. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-435-3.