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

Alfie Kilgour
Personal information
Full name Alfie George Alexander Kilgour[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-18) 18 May 1998 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Bath, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)[3]
Position(s) Central defender
Team information
Current team
Mansfield Town
Number 5
Youth career
2006–2016 Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2023 Bristol Rovers 91 (4)
2016Mangotsfield United (loan) 10 (1)
2016Cirencester Town (loan) 7 (1)
2018Hungerford Town (loan) 9 (1)
2018–2019Maidenhead United (loan) 17 (3)
2023– Mansfield Town 24 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 May 2024

Career

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Bristol Rovers

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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.[citation needed]

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.[10] At the end of the 2018–19 season, Bristol Rovers exercised a contract extension for him.[11] He signed a new contract in August 2019.[12]

He scored his first goal for the club in an EFL Trophy tie against Leyton Orient on 4 December 2019.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17] In November, Kilgour suffered a knee injury in a 2–2 draw with Tranmere Rovers, having to undergo surgery.[18] Kilgour returned to action in January 2022, playing the entirety of a 2–0 victory over Hartlepool United[19] 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.[20]

Mansfield Town

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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.[21][22] 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.[23] 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.[24][25][26]

On 15 August 2023, Kilgour was stretchered off just seventeen minutes into a 2–2 draw with Doncaster Rovers,[27] revealed to be a ruptured achilles that would rule him out for the remainder of the season.[28] In January 2024, he signed a new eighteen-month contract extension to keep him at the club until June 2025.[29]

Career statistics

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As of 12 January 2023
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bristol Rovers 2015–16 League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016–17 League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017–18 League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018–19[30] League One 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2019–20[31] League One 33 2 6 0 2 0 4[a] 1 45 3
2020–21[32] League One 35 1 3 1 1 0 5[a] 0 44 2
2021–22[33] League Two 11 1 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 14 1
2022–23[34] League One 8 0 0 0 1 0 3[a] 1 12 1
Total 91 4 10 1 5 0 13 2 119 7
Mangotsfield United (loan) 2015–16 Southern D1 South & West 10 1 0 0 0 0 10 1
Cirencester Town (loan) 2016–17 Southern Premier 7 0 1 0 1[b] 1 9 1
Hungerford Town (loan) 2017–18 National League South 9 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
Maidenhead United (loan) 2018–19[30] National League 17 3 1 0 1[b] 0 19 3
Career total 135 9 12 1 5 0 14 3 165 13
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ a b Appearances in FA Trophy

Honours

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Bristol Rovers

Mansfield Town

Individual

References

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  1. ^ EFL (8 June 2017). "CLUB LIST OF REGISTERED PLAYERS AS AT 20th MAY 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Alfie Kilgour". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Alfie Kilgour". Bristol Rovers F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  4. ^ How a Maidenhead United loan spell turned Alfie Kilgour into a Bristol Rovers staple
  5. ^ "INJURY UPDATE: ALFIE KILGOUR". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Alfie Kilgour Maidenhead Loan Extended". www.bristolrovers.co.uk.
  7. ^ Evely, John (8 March 2019). "Why Alfie Kilgour has returned to Bristol Rovers". bristolpost.
  8. ^ Gillingham 0–1 Bristol Rovers
  9. ^ Plymouth Argyle 2–2 Bristol Rovers
  10. ^ a b "End of Season Awards Winners". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Bristol Rovers: Chris Lines heads list of nine players to leave League One club". BBC Sport. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Alfie Kilgour: Bristol Rovers centre-back signs new contract". BBC Sport. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  13. ^ "REPORT: Bristol Rovers 1-1 Leyton Orient (4-2 on pens)". leytonorient.com. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Goal of the Month winners: February". www.efl.com. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Alfie Kilgour: Bristol Rovers defender extends deal until 2023". BBC Sport. 4 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Bristol Rovers 1–3 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Bradford City 2–2 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  18. ^ Frost, Sam (25 November 2021). "Bristol Rovers learn extent of Alfie Kilgour injury as defender undergoes knee surgery". Bristol Post. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Bristol Rovers 2–0 Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  20. ^ Frost, Sam (7 March 2022). "Bristol Rovers defender could miss the rest of the season after second surgery". Bristol Post. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Alfie Kilgour leaves Rovers for Mansfield Town". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Stags land centre-back". www.mansfieldtown.net. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Mansfield 4-1 Doncaster: Lucas Akins, Will Swan score in Town rout". www.skysports.com. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  24. ^ "Defender voted February's Player of the Month". www.mansfieldtown.net. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Kilgour wins monthly award". www.mansfieldtown.net. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Kilgour named POTM for April". www.mansfieldtown.net. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Doncaster Rovers 2–2 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Alfie Kilgour ruled out for the season". www.mansfieldtown.net. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  29. ^ "Stalwart defender signs new contract". www.mansfieldtown.net. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Games played by Alfie Kilgour in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Games played by Alfie Kilgour in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  32. ^ "Games played by Alfie Kilgour in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Games played by Alfie Kilgour in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Games played by Alfie Kilgour in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  35. ^ "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  36. ^ https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2024/april/boss-character-was-central-to-promotion/ [bare URL]
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