Matt Baker

Matt Baker

Born 18 December 1974 (Age 27 at debut)

Position: Goalkeeper

(Diamonds player #264)

Total appearances 7

(6 League, 1 Hillier Senior Cup)

Debut:

20 March 2007 (Away Woodford United)

Final game:

28 April 2007 (Away Burton Albion)

Matt was born at Harrogate, Yorkshire and as a schoolboy, was on the books of Leeds United. He was signed up by Hull City as an apprentice keeper in 1996, and won a professional contract with the club making his League debut in August 1999. He only made four first team appearances, and went on loan to Bradford Park Avenue early in 2000 before being released in May. He joined Hereford United in July 2000 as understudy to Scott Cooksey, and although his opportunities were limited during his first season, an injury to Cooksey at the start of the following season, saw him become the first choice keeper. With over 135 appearances in four year and several appearances for England ‘C’, he joined Wrexham in July 2004. His stay there was short lived and he joined MK Dons in December 2004 where he remained for two years. He joined Weymouth in December 2006 after being released, and subsequently joined Diamonds on 2 March 2007 on loan until the end of the season. He provided cover for Scott Tynan and made his debut in the Hillier Senior Cup Final win at Woodford United. He made his League debut two weeks later, but after several fine performances, he returned to Weymouth at the end of the season.

He was eventually released by Weymouth in the summer, and joined Macclesfield Town at the beginning of the 2007/08 season on trial, but a serious knee injury during the pre-season forced him into early retirement from the game. Matt had been keen on journalism during his days at Milton Keynes, and subsequently became the club’s website reporter while studying for a degree in media.

Appearances

2006/2007 – squad number 1