Solly March

Solly March

200px March playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Solomon Benjamin March
Date of birth	(1994-07-20) 20 July 1994
Place of birth	Eastbourne, England
Height
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Brighton & Hove Albion
Number	20
Youth career
2011–2013	Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–	Brighton & Hove Albion	49	(4)
International career‡
2014	England U20	4	(0)
2015–	England U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:10, 5 December 2015 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:57, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

Solomon Benjamin "Solly" March (born 20 July 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Early life

March was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex. His father, Steve, had been an apprentice footballer at Brighton & Hove Albion in the late 1980s.

Club career

Lewes

March began his career in the youth team at East Sussex club Lewes. Lewes were playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football pyramid, and the 17-year-old March had made one first team appearance when he was offered a scholarship by Brighton & Hove Albion.

Brighton & Hove Albion

March signed a three-year contract with Brighton in November 2011. At the time of his transfer it was reported by the Brighton Argus that March had also been offered a contract with Millwall and a trial with Newcastle United. Lewes manager Steve King suggested that March had been attracted to Brighton because of the style of football they were playing under manager Gus Poyet and because the move to another East Sussex club would allow him to remain close to his family.

2012-13 season

March impressed in Brighton's youth squad, earning himself the team's Young Player of the Year Award 2013 and a contract extension until 2015. While still a member of Brighton's development squad, 2013 saw the beginning of March's senior career. During the last half of the 2012–13 season, March made the bench for three senior Championship games but did not make an appearance.

2013-14 season

He then performed well in pre-season friendlies with the first team prior to the start of the 2013–14 season; highlighted with a 'superb' goal against Norwich City. March was a named substitute in five of the first six games in the 2013–14 season and was substituted on in the 85th and 91st minutes against Derby County and Burnley respectively, thus creating his debut in Brighton's first team.

March scored his first senior goal for the Albion in an FA Cup fourth round tie at Port Vale on 25 January 2014. The game also saw Rohan Ince and Jon Obika score their first goals for the club in a 3-1 win.

On 14 April 2014, March signed a new four-year deal with the Seagulls.

On 12 December 2015, March suffered a season ending knee injury.

International career

March was named by Gareth Southgate as a forward in the England Under-21 squad in May 2014. The squad will play a Euro U-21s qualification match against Wales and at least four games at the Toulon Tournament. March had not previously played for England at any level.

Style of play

March typically plays on the wing either in midfield or as part of a forward line. Steve King, his former manager at Lewes, described March as a “technically very good" player who "has bags of energy, is a box-to-box player, has a good left foot, a good shot, he sees things early and the weight of his passes is very good.”

Career statistics

As of 5 December 2015.

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brighton & Hove Albion	2012–13	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2013–14		23	0	4	1	0	0	1	0	28	1
	2014–15		11	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	13	1
	2015–16		15	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	16	3
Career total			49	4	6	1	1	0	1	0	57	5

External links

• Solly March at TheFA.com