Percy Lennard
{{Short description|Australian soccer player (1900–1975)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Percy Lennard
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| fullname = Percy Lennard
| birth_date = 1900
| birth_place = Inverell, Australia
| death_date = 1975 (aged 74–75)
| death_place = Cessnock, Australia
| height =
| position = Inside forward{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134718272 |title=SOCCER CODE |newspaper=Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate |issue=16,353 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 March 1929 |access-date=1 December 2020 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}
| youthyears1 = 1918
| youthclubs1 = Kurri Kurri
| years1 = 1919
| clubs1 = Rothbury
| caps1 = ?
| goals1 = ?
| clubs2 = Cessnock
| years2 = 1920–1937
| caps2 = 492
| goals2 = 210
| nationalyears1 = 1923
| nationalteam1 = Australia
| nationalcaps1 = 3
| nationalgoals1 = 2
}}
Percy Lennard (1900–1975) was an Australian soccer player.{{cite web|url=http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/L/LAV.html#LennardPercy|title=Australian Player Database - LAV|publisher=ozfootball.net|access-date=2009-06-11}}
Early life
Lennard was born in Inverell in 1900. As a young child, he moved to Kurri Kurri where he attended a local public school. At the age of 18, despite having shown potential in rugby league.{{cite web|url=https://www.cessnock.nsw.gov.au/Council/Civic-events-information/Hall-of-Fame/Inductees/Percy-Lennard|title=Percy Lennard: Football player|date=6 December 2006|publisher=Cessnock City Council}}
Club career
=Rothbury=
Lennard played for the Kurri Kurri under-18 team as captain in 1918 before starting his senior team at Rothbury in 1919.{{cite book|first=Andrew|last=Howe|year=2018|title=Encyclopedia of Socceroos: Every national team player|isbn=978-0-648-13330-8|publisher=Fair Play Publishing}}
=Cessnock=
After one year with Rothbury, Lennard joined Cessnock where he spent the rest of his career at. He helped the club to honours that included the Stevenson, Kerr and Ellis Cups, and in 1928 and 1929 the State League Premiership Cup. In his Cessnock career, he played 492 senior games and scored 210 goals for Cessnock.
International and state career
Lennard represented Australia twelve times, scoring twice. He made his Australian debut against New Zealand in 1923 where he scored Australia's first ever international goal on home soil. Lennard was inducted into the City of Cessnock Hall of Fame on 6 December 2006, he was also inducted in the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame.
Lennard represented New South Wales interstate and internationally, and in 1923, was selected to play for Australia in three exhibition matches against New Zealand, and scored two goals. These matches were the first played in Australia by an international football team, and the first full A Grade international football matches played in the country. Given that he scored the first goal in the first match of the series, Lennard scored the first ever Australian international football goal on home soil. He played for Australia in nine further internationals.
Lennard's son Jack Lennard also represented Australia in international football.
Career statistics
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
| rowspan="2" |National team | rowspan="2" |Year | colspan="2" |Competitive
! colspan="2" |Friendly ! colspan="2" |Total |
|---|---|---|
| Apps
!Goals !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals | ||
| Australia
|1923 |0 |0 |3 |2 |3 |2 |
:Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Australia goal.
Death
Lennard died in Cessnock in 1975, aged 74.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322091235/http://www.cessnock.nsw.gov.au/comcul/culture/halloffame/sport HALL OF FAME - SPORT]
{{Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennard, Percy}}
Category:Australian men's soccer players
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Australia men's international soccer players
Category:Sportsmen from New South Wales
Category:People from Kurri Kurri
Category:Soccer players from New South Wales
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
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