Lewis Spence (footballer)

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This article is about the Scottish footballer. For the English footballer, see Lewwis Spence.
Lewis Spence
Personal information
Full name Lewis Robert Spence[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-28) 28 January 1996 (age 25)
Place of birth Kirkcaldy,[2] Scotland
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Hamilton Academical
Number 14
Youth career
–2007 Hearts
2007–2012 Rangers
2012–2013 Dunfermline Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2017 Dunfermline Athletic 34 (0)
2016 → Brechin City (loan) 13 (3)
2016 → Brechin City (loan) 7 (0)
2017–2019 Dundee 31 (0)
2019–2020 Ross County 30 (0)
2020–2021 Scunthorpe United 41 (1)
2021– Hamilton Academical 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:55, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Lewis Robert Spence (born 28 January 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hamilton Academical. Spence has previously played for Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee, Ross County and had two short loan spells with Brechin City.

Career[]

Dunfermline Athletic[]

Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Spence played for Cowdenbeath-based Blue Brazil Boys Club, before playing youth football with Heart of Midlothian and Rangers.[2] In 2012, he joined Dunfermline Athletic, playing for their under-20 squad during the 2012–13 season. In the next season, Spence began to become involved with the Dunfermline first team. He appeared on the substitutes' bench on a number of occasions, before making his debut as an 89th-minute substitute for Ryan Williamson in a 0–4 defeat to Rangers at East End Park.[3][4] His first starting appearance came in Scottish League One against Ayr United, with Spence playing 78 minutes of the 1–1 draw, before being replaced by Andy Geggan.[5][6] In total, Spence made six appearances for Dunfermline during the 2013–14 season, with more than half being made as a substitute.

Spence played in Dunfermline's first match of the 2014–15 season, a 5–1 win over Annan Athletic in the Scottish League Cup.[7][8] He scored his first goal for the club in a loss to St Mirren at St Mirren Park, also in the League Cup.[9][10] Spence played 31 times for Dunfermline during the season, scoring once, as the team finished in seventh position in League One.[11]

Following John Potter's resignation as manager and the appointment of Allan Johnston,[12] Spence found himself on the fringes of the first team squad and made just one appearance for the club in the 2015–16 season, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Geggan in a 4–1 victory over Arbroath in August 2015.[13][14] In January 2016, Spence was sent to fellow Scottish League One team Brechin City on a development loan to provide him with more game time.[15] He made 13 appearances for Brechin and scored 3 goals, including an "outstanding" 35-yard lob against Airdrieonians,[16] which was nominated in April 2016 as one of the club's goals of the season.[17] His contribution helped Brechin avoid relegation,[18] after they had been bottom of the league for the majority of the season.[19]

At the end of the 2015–16 season, Spence signed a new one-year contract with Dunfermline which would see him remain at the club until the end of the 2016–17 season.[18] After making a handful of appearances for the first-team, Spence returned to Brechin on a one-month loan in September 2016,[20] which was subsequently extended for an additional month. Returning to Dunfermline, Spence made only seven appearances in the two seasons in which Johnston was in charge. He left the club in May 2017 when his contract expired,[21] having made 45 appearances in his five years with Dunfermline.

Dundee[]

On 22 June 2017, Spence signed a one-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Dundee, under manager Neil McCann who had previously coached him at Dunfermline.[22] After impressing in his first season, Spence signed a two-year contract extension in April 2018, which was due to keep him at the club until summer 2020.[23] McCann was replaced as manager by Jim McIntyre during the 2018–19 season, and Spence was released from his contract in January 2019.[24]

Ross County[]

After his release by Dundee, Spence signed for Scottish Championship club Ross County.[24] In his first season, he played 21 games, including 15 in the league. He helped Ross County win the title and therefore promotion into the Scottish Premiership.[25] He was also apart of the Scottish League Challenge Cup final squad, that Ross County won 3–1 against Connah's Quay.[26] He spent another year at the club, only making 15 appearances.

Scunthorpe United[]

Spence made his move to England after signing a two-year contract with Scunthorpe United in August 2020.[27] In his first season at the club, he started in 44 games, including 41 league games. He scored his only goal for Scunthorpe in a 3–1 win over Harrogate Town.[28] After Scunthorpe poor season, which saw them narrowly avoid relegation,[29] he asked to leave because he believed "Scunthorpe wasn't for [him]."[30] His wish was granted and he moved back to Scotland.

Hamilton Academical[]

In July 2021, Spence confirmed that he'd had joined Hamilton Academical.[31] He signed a two-year contract.[32] He has since played for Hamilton ten times, including seven in the league. He scored his first goal for them in a Scottish League Challenge Cup against Hearts U20.[33]

Career statistics[]

As of match played 8 May 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dunfermline Athletic 2013–14[34] Scottish League One 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 0
2014–15[35] 26 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 31 1
2015–16[36] 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
2016–17[37] Scottish Championship 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 6 0
Total 34 0 1 0 6 1 4 0 45 1
Brechin City (loan) 2015–16[36] Scottish League One 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 3
2016–17[37] 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Total 20 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 3
Dundee 2017–18[38] Scottish Premiership 18 0 1 0 2 0 – 21 0
2018–19[39] 13 0 0 0 3 1 – 16 1
Total 31 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 37 1
Ross County 2018–19[39] Scottish Championship 15 0 3 0 0 0 1[a] 0 19 0
2019–20[40] Scottish Premiership 15 0 0 0 0 0 – 15 0
Total 30 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 34 0
Scunthorpe United 2020–21[41] League Two 41 1 1 0 1 0 1[b] 0 44 1
Hamilton Academical [42] Scotting Championship 7 0 0 0 2 0 1[a] 1 10 1
Career total 163 4 6 0 14 2 7 1 191 7
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy

Honours[]

Dunfermline Athletic

Ross County

References[]

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Scunthorpe United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 62. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b "First team squad - Lewis Spence". Dunfermline Athletic FC. dafc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. ^ Crawford, Kenny (30 December 2013). "Dunfermline 0–4 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Dunfermline 0 Rangers 4". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Ayr United 1–1 Dunfermline". espnfc.co.uk. ESPN. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Ayr United 1 Dunfermline 1". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Dunfermline 5–1 Annan Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Dunfermline 5 Annan Athletic 1". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  9. ^ "St Mirren 2–1 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  10. ^ "St Mirren 2 Dunfermline 1". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Airdrieonians 3–2 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. ^ "DAFC appoint new first team manager". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Starting Lineups - Arbroath vs Dunf'mline". Sky Sports. Sky. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Arbroath 1 Dunfermline 4". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Lewis Spence goes out on loan". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Airdrie 0 Brechin 2: Outstanding effort helps City's bid to beat drop". The Courier. DC Thomson Co Ltd. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Vote For Your Goal of the Season". Brechin City FC. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  18. ^ a b Hart, Ross (16 May 2016). "Dunfermline Athletic duo David Hutton and Lewis Spence pen one year deals". Dunfermline Press. Newsquest. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  19. ^ "Brechin City 2015–16 statistics". Statto. Statto Organisation Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  20. ^ "Spence joins Brechin City". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  21. ^ "Player update". Dunfermline Athletic FC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Lewis signs". Dundee FC. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  23. ^ "Lewis signs extension". Dundee FC. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Andrew Davies: Dundee sign defender after Hartlepool agree to terminate contract". BBC Sport. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  25. ^ Paterson, Colin (2019-08-02). "Scottish Championship 2019-20 preview: Club-by-club guide to new season". Daily Record (in British English). Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  26. ^ a b "Ross County lifted the Challenge Cup for a third time". BBC Sport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  27. ^ "Spence joins the Iron". Scunthorpe-United (in British English). 2020-08-03. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  28. ^ "