.jpg) Stevens in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mathew Antony Stevens | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-02-12)12 February 1998 (age 27) | ||
| Place of birth | Frimley, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AFC Wimbledon | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Aldershot Town | |||
| Farnborough | |||
| 2005–2014 | Reading | ||
| 2014 | Barnet | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2016 | Barnet | 11 | (1) |
| 2016–2019 | Peterborough United | 4 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | →Cambridge City (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| 2017 | →Sligo Rovers (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | →Kettering Town (loan) | 44 | (25) |
| 2018 | →Slough Town (loan) | 9 | (6) |
| 2019–2024 | Forest Green Rovers | 109 | (38) |
| 2021 | →Stevenage (loan) | 18 | (1) |
| 2023 | →Walsall (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2024– | AFC Wimbledon | 55 | (22) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10:00, 29 September 2025 (UTC) | |||
Mathew Antony Stevens (born 12 February 1998) is an Englishfootballer and formeramateur boxer who plays as aforward forEFL League One clubAFC Wimbledon.
Stevens was born into a boxing family – grandfather Les Stevens was a professional boxer[2] who foughtJohn Conteh in 1974.[3] Stevens, who fought out of Pinewood Starr ABC inCrowthorne and once sparred withTim Witherspoon,[4] won four national titles during his brief career at youth level. In 2011, he won the ABAE Schools national title[5] and the GB Schoolboy 3 Nations title,[6] repeating the feat again in 2012.[7][8] Stevens was undefeated during his boxing career. While at school in Berkshire, he was a classmate of futureAFC Wimbledon teammateSteve Seddon.[9]
Stevens quit boxing aged 15, although while still fighting he was part of the youth teams atAldershot Town,[10]Farnborough,[11] andReading, where he scored 32 goals in the 2013–14 season at U-16 level.[12] Stevens joinedBarnet in the summer of 2014 on a two-year scholarship. Impressive goal scoring form for the youth team early in the season saw him make his senior debut againstAlfreton Town on 6 September 2014,[13] coming on as a substitute forSam Togwell after 82 minutes,[14] becoming Barnet's youngest ever player aged 16 years and 204 days, a record previously held byMauro Vilhete[13] (a record lost toDwight Pascal in 2016). His first senior goal for the Bees came in theHerts Senior Cup againstSt. Margaretsbury on 26 November 2014.[15] The following month he scored again in theFA Trophy againstConcord Rangers on 16 December 2014 – scoring aPanenka penalty – and also becoming Barnet's youngest ever goalscorer in a national competition.[16] Stevens scored 57 goals in all competitions (including youth games) in the 2014–15 season – attracting interest from larger clubs, includingSwansea City, who had a £250,000 offer for Stevens rejected in May 2015.[17] A bid was also received fromCrystal Palace with bothManchester United andManchester City sending scouts to watch him play.[18]
Stevens scored six times for the Bees in 2015–16 pre-season, and made hisFootball League debut when he came on as an 87th-minute substitute forMichael Gash againstLeyton Orient on 8 August 2015.[19] Barnet transfer listed Stevens in January 2016 after he turned down two contract offers from the club.[20] Stevens scored his first league goal for the Bees againstAFC Wimbledon on 20 January 2016.[21]
Stevens signed forPeterborough United on 1 July 2016, signing a three-year deal.[22]
Stevens joinedCambridge City on loan in December 2016,[23] before joiningSligo Rovers on loan on 14 January 2017.[24] He scored three goals in twelve appearances for Sligo. Stevens joinedKettering Town on loan in August 2017 until the rest of the season, and finished as top scorer with 25 league goals.[25] Stevens also finished as top scorer for Posh in 2018–19 pre-season before joininingSlough Town on loan on 31 August 2018 until the New Year,[26] but was recalled in early December.[27]
He was transfer-listed by Peterborough United at the end of the 2018–19 season.[28]
Stevens joinedForest Green Rovers on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee in July 2019.[29] He scored his first goals for Forest Green when he scored twice in anEFL Trophy tie againstSouthampton U21 on 3 September 2019.[30] On 5 January 2021, Stevens joinedStevenage on loan until the end of the season.[31]
After an impressive start to the2021–22 season that saw Stevens score five goals in the opening five matches of the season, he was awarded the league'sPlayer of the Month award for August 2021 with managerRob Edwards scooping the Manager of the Month award.[32] Stevens went on to score 27 goals in all competitions in the 2021–22 season.[33] His performances earned him a place in thePFA Team of the Year for his division as well as theEFL League Two Team of the Year.[34][35] He was also named as the club's Supporters' Player of the Season as Forest Green won promotion toLeague One as champions.[36][37]
On 31 January 2023, Stevens joinedWalsall on loan until the end of the season.[38]
Following the second of Forest Green's back-to-back relegations, Stevens was released at the end of the2023–24 season.[39] He departed as the club's all-time joint-second highest goalscorer with 51 goals in 133 appearances.[40]
On 20 May 2024, it was confirmed that Stevens would sign for League TwoAFC Wimbledon on a two-year deal.[41] On 10 August 2024 he scored on his Wimbledon debut in a 4-2 win overColchester United.[42] On 10 April 2025, Stevens signed a two-year contract extension with Wimbledon, keeping him at the club until 2027.[43]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barnet | 2014–15 | Conference Premier | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3[a] | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2015–16 | League Two | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 11 | 1 | |
| Total | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 3 | ||
| Peterborough United | 2016–17[44] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017–18[45] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[46] | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Cambridge City (loan) | 2016–17 | Southern League Premier Division | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Sligo Rovers (loan) | 2017 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Kettering Town (loan) | 2017–18 | Southern League Premier Division | 44 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[d] | 5 | 54 | 30 |
| Slough Town (loan) | 2018–19 | National League South | 9 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 3 | 19 | 11 |
| Forest Green Rovers | 2019–20[47] | League Two | 29 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 2 | 36 | 7 |
| 2020–21[48] | League Two | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 3 | 16 | 5 | |
| 2021–22[33] | League Two | 37 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 3 | 42 | 27 | |
| 2022–23[49] | League One | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[50] | League Two | 28 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | 33 | 11 | |
| Total | 109 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 133 | 50 | ||
| Stevenage (loan) | 2020–21[48] | League Two | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Walsall (loan) | 2022–23[49] | League Two | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| AFC Wimbledon | 2024–25[51] | League Two | 45 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6[c] | 1 | 56 | 21 |
| 2025-26[52] | League One | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | |
| Total | 55 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 67 | 26 | ||
| Career total | 281 | 95 | 23 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 31 | 20 | 345 | 126 | ||
Forest Green Rovers
AFC Wimbledon
Individual