Matt Rhead

Matthew James "Matt" Rhead (born 31 May 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League club Lincoln City.

Playing career

Rhead was born in Stoke-on-Trent and played for nearby non-league side Norton United before joining Kidsgrove Athletic ahead of the 2004–2005 season. He moved on to join Eastwood Town, making a goal scoring debut in the club's 2–3 home defeat to Matlock Town on 16 October 2007. The fee was a record for the two clubs and Rhead would end the season as Eastwood's top goalscorer of the season having netted 17 goals from 26 starts. At the end of September 2008, he rejoined Kidsgrove Athletic on a month's loan but with the loan restricting him only to league games, he started only a single game before returning to Eastwood at the end of the loan period. He departed Eastwood to join Nantwich Town for the start of the 2009–2010 season before joining Congleton Town on an initial month's loan, making a goalscoring debut in the club's draw with Squires Gate on 12 December 2009; after a month's loan he agreed terms to join the club on a permanent basis until the end of the 2009–10 season. Having been invited for pre-season training with Eastwood Town he rejoined the club he had first joined for £4000 from Kidsgrove back in October 2007. He joined Corby Town from Eastwood Town in June 2011.

Mansfield Town

He signed with Mansfield Town in January 2012, and scored two goals in 17 games in the 2011–12 season. In July 2012, he quit his job as a team leader at JCB to become a full-time professional footballer. He then scored five goals in 37 games in the 2012–13 campaign as the "Stags" won promotion into the Football League as champions of the Conference Premier.

Lincoln City

On 14 May 2015 he signed a 2-year deal with Lincoln City and made his debut against Cheltenham Town and managed to score his first goals for the Imps by scoring 2 in a 3–1 victory over Braintree Town. On 18 August 2015 he scored 2 goals in a 5–3 win against Macclesfield. He managed to score the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with Grimsby in the Lincolnshire derby by scoring another penalty. He scored a hat trick in the FA Cup 1st round but ended up on the losing side as Lincoln lost 5–3 to Whitehawk on 8 November 2015. He started off his second season at Lincoln by scoring 2 goals in a 3-1 win over Woking.

Honours

Mansfield Town

• Conference Premier: 2012–13