Matt Jay

Matthew William Jay (born 27 February 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL League Two club Colchester United.

Matt Jay

Personal information
Full name	Matthew William Jay[1]
Date of birth	(1996-02-27) 27 February 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Torbay, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Colchester United
Number	27
Youth career
2003–2013	Exeter City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2023	Exeter City	163	(41)
2014–2015	→ Weston-super-Mare (loan)	5	(1)
2015	→ Hayes & Yeading United (loan)	6	(2)
2016	→ Truro City (loan)	20	(6)
2023–	Colchester United	35	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:42, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Early life and education

Jay was born in Torbay in Devon and he attended South Dartmoor Community College together with Ollie Watkins and Jamie Reid.^[3][4]

Playing career

Exeter City

Jay made his professional debut for Exeter in a 2–0 loss to Wycombe Wanderers in the Football League Trophy at St James Park on 3 September 2013.^[5]

On 22 November 2015, Jay joined National League South side Hayes & Yeading United on a one-month loan.^[6]

He scored his first goal for Exeter in an EFL Trophy tie against Oxford United on 30 August 2016.^[7] Jay finally scored his first league goal on the 8th of April, in the 2017–18 campaign, away to Cambridge United in a game where Exeter came twice from behind to win 3–2. This came to the delight of many players and fans alike following a run of impressive games starting and from the bench.^[8][9]

In 2021, Jay scored his first career hat trick in a 4–0 victory against Leyton Orient.^[10] After a month in which he scored five goals and got one assist, Jay received the League Two Player of the Month award for March 2021.^[11] At the end of the 2020–21 season, he was named as the Devon side's Player of the Season,^[12] and on 29 April 2021 was named in the 2020–21 EFL League Two Team of the Season at the league's annual awards ceremony.^[13]

Jay was awarded the Exeter captaincy following the departure of Jake Taylor in the summer of 2021 and was given the number 7 shirt. He continued his goalscoring form into the 2021–22 season, netting 16 times in all competitions. The most significant of these came in a 2–1 home win over Barrow, where he scored a late winner, chesting the ball down from a Josh Key cross and slamming home through the legs of Paul Farman on the volley to secure his boyhood club's return to League One after a decade in League Two.^[14]

Colchester United

On 9 January 2023, Jay signed for Colchester United for an undisclosed fee.^[15]

Career statistics

As of match played on 17 September 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Exeter City	2013–14[16]	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	1[a]	0	3	0
	2014–15[17]	League Two	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2015–16[18]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[a]	0	1	0
	2016–17[19]	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	3[b]	1	5	1
	2017–18[20]	League Two	17	1	1	0	1	0	4[c]	0	23	1
	2018–19[21]	League Two	18	4	0	0	2	0	4[b]	0	24	4
	2019–20[22]	League Two	14	4	2	0	1	0	6[d]	4	23	8
	2020–21[23]	League Two	44	18	2	1	1	0	1[b]	1	48	20
	2021–22[24]	League Two	45	14	3	0	1	0	2[b]	2	51	16
	2022–23[25]	League One	18	0	2	1	2	1	3[b]	2	25	4
	Total		163	41	10	2	8	1	25	10	206	54
Weston-super-Mare (loan)	2014–15[26]	Conference South	5	1	0	0	—		1[e]	0	6	1
Hayes & Yeading United (loan)	2015–16[26][27]	National League South	6	2	0	0	—		2[e]	0	8	2
Truro City (loan)	2015–16[26]	National League South	20	6	0	0	—		2[f]	0	22	6
	Total		31	9	0	0	0	0	5	0	36	9
Colchester United	2022–23[25]	League Two	18	0	—		—		—		18	0
	2023–24[28]	League Two	17	1	0	0	0	0	3[b]	0	20	1
	2024–25[29]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[b]	0	1	0
	Total		35	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	39	1
Career total			229	51	10	2	8	1	34	10	281	64

1. Appearance in Football League Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
3. Three appearances in EFL Trophy, one appearance in League Two play-offs
4. Five appearances and four goals in EFL Trophy, one appearance in League Two play-offs
5. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
6. Appearances in the National League South play-offs

Honours

Exeter City

• EFL League Two runner-up: 2021–22^[30]

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2020–21 League Two,^[31] 2021–22 League Two^[32]
• EFL League Two Team of the Season: 2020–21^[13]
• Exeter City Player of the Season: 2020–21^[12]
• EFL League Two Player of the Month: March 2021^[11]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Exeter City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 26. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
2. "Matt Jay - Midfielder - First Team - Exeter City FC". Exeter City F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
3. "From the playing fields of South Devon to England and the World Cup – star footballer Ollie does mum and family proud". Torbay Weekly. Clear Sky Publishing. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
4. "Alumni". South Devon Community College.
5. "Exeter City: Matt Jay earns first professional deal". BBC Sport. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
6. "City youngster with York Road club for a month". Exeter City F.C. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
7. "Oxford United 4 (T Roberts 12, Maguire pen 36, Taylor 68, MacDonald 71), Exeter City 2 (Jay 43, McAlinden 61)". Oxford Mail. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
8. "Exeter City".
9. "Cambridge 2-3 Exeter: Grecians battle to victory".
10. "Exeter 4–0 Leyton Orient: Matt Jay hat-trick fires Grecians to victory".
11. "Matt Jay wins Sky Bet League Two Player of the Month!". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 9 April 2021.
12. Clark, Daniel (8 May 2021). "Matt Jay takes home player of the year awards as he reaches his 20 goal target". DevonLive. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
13. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
14. "Exeter City win promotion from League Two". BBC Sport.
15. "Colchester sign Exeter skipper Jay until 2025". BBC Sport. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
16. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
17. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
18. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
19. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
20. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
21. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
22. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
23. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
24. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
25. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
26. "M. Jay – Summary". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
27. "Hayes & Yeading Utd 2 Eastbourne Borough 2 Match Report". Hayes & Yeading United FC. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
28. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
29. "Games played by Matt Jay in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
30. Brent Pilnick (26 April 2022). "Exeter City win promotion from League Two". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
31. "Norwich City dominate with six players in PFA Championship team of the year". BBC Sport. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
32. "Mohamed Salah and Sam Kerr win PFA player of year awards". BBC Sport. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.

External links

• Matt Jay at Soccerbase
• Matt Jay at Soccerway