Jack Pelter

Jack Anthony Pelter (born 30 July 1987) is a footballer who plays as centre-back for Metro F.C. in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier. He previously played for Canterbury United, Sunderland, Western Suburbs FC, Vålerenga and Waitakere United.

Jack Pelter
Personal information
Full name Jack Anthony Pelter
Date of birth (1987-07-30) 30 July 1987
Place of birth Barrow-in-Furness, England
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Metro
Number 2
Youth career
Christchurch Technical
Ferrymead Bays
Central United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Canterbury United 0 (0)
2007–2008 Sunderland 0 (0)
2009 Western Suburbs FC 0 (0)
2009 → Vålerenga (loan) 0 (0)
2009–2011 Waitakere United 13 (0)
2011– Metro 8 (1)
National team‡
2003–2007 New Zealand U17
2007–2009 New Zealand U20 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:47, 3 January 2011 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:47, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

Club career

New Zealand

Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, Pelter emigrated with his family to New Zealand at the age of eight and entered the New Zealand Football Academy whilst twelve years old.[1] He exhibited a love for football in his school work, writing an essay on his personal hero Roy Keane,[1] whilst also supporting English team Blackburn Rovers.[2] He went on to play in the National Soccer League for Christchurch Technical, Ferrymead Bays and Central United. He was taken back to England at the age of fifteen by New Zealand Knights manager Chris Turner who introduced him to the scouting teams at Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea and Swansea City.[3]

After recovering from a serious back injury on his return, Pelter moved to New Zealand Football Championship team Canterbury United in 2005.[3] Due to the semi-professional nature of football in New Zealand, Pelter had to take on other jobs to finance his football regime, with his mother later commenting "After training, he'd go to work in a bar until two in the morning to fund his career, he was running, training and swimming on his own, he used to get up on cold mornings on his own to go running".[1]

The winner of Canterbury United's "Defender of the Year" award and runner-up for "Player of the Year" in only his first season with the club, Pelter subsequently attracted the attention of European clubs in 2007 following his international progress. Born in the United Kingdom, he was eligible to play for any EU club without the need for a work permit and reserve team and youth contracts were offered to him by Leeds United and AC Milan amongst others.[3]

Sunderland

He took up the offer of a trial at Sunderland in July 2007, appearing in the pre-season friendly defeat against Scunthorpe United and reserve team games against Berwick Rangers and Hebburn Town.[4] He was offered a first team contract by the club in August but an ankle injury he had picked up during the World Cup put the deal in some doubt so he was initially offered a one-month deal,[5][6][7] before signing a one-year contract three weeks later in September 2007 on successful completion of his medical.[8][9] He was released by the club at the end of the 2007–08 season,[10] after which he trained with Bradford City.[11]

Vålerenga

On 31 August 2009 it was announced that Pelter had joined Vålerenga Fotball in Oslo, Norway on loan. Pelter will predominately play for the B team, in the Norwegian Second Division, for the remainder of the season.[12]

International career

Pelter has represented New Zealand at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels. He made his Under-17 debut, against Tahiti, in 2003.[2] He was part of New Zealand's Under-20 World Cup 2007 squad, of which he was captain.[13] He made his debut against Mexico on 8 July 2007 at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton also scored New Zealand's only goal of the tournament in that match, as they failed to progress beyond the group stages.[14]

Pelter was part of the New Zealand A team that performed in the quadrangular Agribank Cup Tournament in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2006, with every game being played at the My Dinh Stadium, eventually finishing third in the tournament that also featured Vietnam the hosts, Bahrain under 21 and Thailand. New Zealand A were beaten 1–0 by Vietnam in their first game of the tournament on 25 October 2006, they were again beaten 1–0 by Thailand on 27 October. New Zealand A finally gained their first and only win beating Bahrain U21 1–0 on 29 October with Leo Shin scoring the goal.[15][16]

References
  1. Ben Frampton (26 July 2007). "Globetrotting Jack's so Keane to impress Roy". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  2. "NZ U20 Men – Jack Pelter". nzfootball.co.nz. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  3. Coen Lammers (15 August 2007). "Pelter may realise dream". Sport. The Press. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  4. "Jack Pelter's profile on www.safc.com". SAFC. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  5. Coen Lammers (20 August 2007). "Hurt ankle delays Pelter signing". The Press. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  6. Coen Lammers (6 September 2007). "Sunderland signs Christchurch player short-term". The Press. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  7. "Pelter signs one month contract for Sunderland A.F.C." SAFC. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  8. Coen Lammers (19 September 2007). "Pelter pinching himself over deal". The Press. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  9. NZPA (18 September 2007). "One-year deal has Pelter eyeing premiership spot". The Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  10. "Sunderland release eight players". BBC Sport. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  11. "Leicester and Bradford want ex-Sunderland pair". Sunderland Echo. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  12. "Vålerenga leier stopper". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  13. "Jack Pelter New Zealand under 20's captain". premierleague.com. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
  14. "Mexico vs New Zealand under 20 world cup match report". cbc.ca. 8 July 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  15. "Agribank cup final standing and results". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  16. "Jack Pelter – Tour of Duty, p7," (PDF). Mainland Football. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
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