 Styche in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Reece Styche[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-05-03)3 May 1989 (age 36)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Sutton Coldfield, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Banbury United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2008 | Hednesford Town | 7 | (2) |
| 2008 | →Bromsgrove Rovers (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Grantham Town | 6 | (2) |
| 2009 | Coalville Town | 12 | (1) |
| 2009 | Shepshed Dynamo | 7 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Chasetown | 13 | (10) |
| 2010–2014 | Forest Green Rovers | 107 | (35) |
| 2014 | →Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Kidderminster Harriers | 36 | (6) |
| 2014 | →Tamworth (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2015 | →Tamworth (loan) | 15 | (4) |
| 2015–2016 | →Macclesfield Town (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2016 | Macclesfield Town | 12 | (4) |
| 2016–2017 | Gateshead | 17 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | →Nuneaton Town (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2017 | Tamworth | 27 | (13) |
| 2017–2018 | Darlington | 31 | (16) |
| 2018–2019 | Alfreton Town | 22 | (11) |
| 2019–2020 | Hereford | 22 | (3) |
| 2020 | Bromsgrove Sporting | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Buxton | 7 | (1) |
| 2021 | Hednesford Town | 6 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Stourbridge | 53 | (19) |
| 2023 | Matlock Town | 11 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | AFC Telford United | 27 | (8) |
| 2024 | Stratford Town | 6 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | AFC Telford United | 18 | (2) |
| 2025 | Bromsgrove Sporting | 11 | (1) |
| 2025– | Banbury United | 11 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | England C | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2023 | Gibraltar | 31 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:48, 21 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:33, 27 March 2023 (UTC) | |||
Reece Styche (born 3 May 1989) is a professionalfootballer who plays as aforward for Southern Premier Central sideBanbury United and theGibraltar national team. Known as a physical attacker, he is also known as "Brutus" by fans in Gibraltar after the nickname was given to him by head coachJulio Cesar Ribas.[3]
Born inSutton Coldfield,West Midlands,[2] Styche came through the youth system atHednesford Town and made his debut for the club on 28 April 2007, coming off the bench and scoring twice in a 3–2 away win overKendal Town.[4] A number of injury problems hampered his progress[5] and he spent a monthon loan atBromsgrove Rovers in September 2008.[6] He made foursubstitute appearances, three in theSouthern League Midland Division and one in theBirmingham Senior Cup, and scored once, againstAFC Sudbury.[7]
After two substitute appearances for Hednesford,[4] he joinedGrantham Town permanently after a short trial period. Four months later he left Grantham and joinedCoalville Town in February 2009. He ended the 2008–09 season with Coalville[citation needed] but then signed forShepshed Dynamo.[8]
In October 2009, he joinedNorthern Premier League Division One South clubChasetown. He scored on his debut after just three minutes of anFA Trophy victory overLincoln United.[9] His goalscoring success with the Scholars saw him find the back of the net 13 times in 15 appearances – 10 from 13 league matches[10] – and would earn him a move away from the club as a result.
On 25 January 2010, Styche joinedConference Premier clubForest Green Rovers.[11] He made his debut the next day, scoring twice in a 3–2 away win overHayes & Yeading United after coming on as a substitute forCraig Rocastle.[12] In May 2010, he agreed a new contract to stay with the club for the 2010–11 season.[13] He ended the 2010–11 campaign as the club's top goal scorer with 16 goals. His fine goalscoring form earned him a call-up to theEngland C squad for the final of the International Challenge Trophy against the Portugal under-23 team.[14] He appeared as a substitute in the final atSixfields Stadium but couldn't prevent England C from suffering a 1–0 defeat.[15]
In August 2011, he was the subject of a bid from league rivalsLuton Town which was rejected by Forest Green, and he signed a new three-year contract with the club.[16] In October 2011, having scored six times in nine appearances, he suffered a knee injury which was expected to rule him out for much of the season.[17] He returned to first-team action towards the end of the campaign,[2] and began the 2012–13 season with a first goal againstAFC Telford United, albeit awarded as anown goal,[18] followed by a last-minute penalty atGateshead which secured a 1–1 draw.[19]
In February 2013, he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament which required surgery.[20] He returned from injury in October, and scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season in a 6–2 away win overHyde on 18 January 2014.[2][21]
A few days later, he joinedLeague Two teamWycombe Wanderers on loan until the end of the season.[22] He made his debut againstMansfield Town and was replaced after 69 minutes of his first game in theFootball League. He appeared 14 times for Wycombe, left the club at the end of his loan spell,[2] and was one of ten players released by Forest Green at the end of the season.[23]
On 15 May 2014, Styche signed a two-year deal with Conference clubKidderminster Harriers.[24] He made his debut on 9 August, coming off the bench in a 0–0 draw withLincoln City.[25] His first goal for Kidderminster came in a 4–0 home win overAltrincham on 16 September 2014.[2]
In October 2014, he joinedConference North clubTamworth on loan. He scored on his debut for Tamworth. He went on to make five appearances, scoring twice, during his loan spell. On 13 January 2015, Styche joined Tamworth on loan for a second spell until the end of the season.[2] On 8 August 2015 Styche scored on his return to the Harriers' first team in a 2–2 draw withGrimsby Town.[2]
On 30 October 2015, Styche joinedMacclesfield Town of theNational League on loan until January 2016.[26] Despite a contract offer to stay at Macclesfield, Styche signed for fellow National League clubGateshead in May 2016.[27] After his Gateshead contract was cancelled in January 2017, Styche signed for Tamworth, where he had previously spent time on loan.[28] In November 2017, he moved on to another National League North club,Darlington, for an undisclosed fee.[29] He scored 11 goals in 21 league matches in what remained of the season and, according to theNorthern Echo, played a major role in the club avoiding relegation. In October 2018, Darlington accepted an offer for Styche's services from divisional rivalsAlfreton Town, apparently for financial reasons.[30][31] He completed the move on 24 October and scored after seven minutes of his debut three days later.[32][33]
On 23 May 2019, it was announced that Styche had transferred to league rivalsHereford.[34] In February 2020, he joinedSouthern Premier Central sideBromsgrove Sporting.[35] However, he was only able to make one league appearance for the club before the season was abandoned due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and in June 2020 he moved again, this time toBuxton of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.[36][37] With another season curtailed by the pandemic, Styche moved once more in May 2021, this time returning toHednesford Town after 13 years away.[38] His stay, however, was short-lived and early in the season he switched to league rivalsStourbridge. After a year and a half at the Glassboys, he moved once again in March 2023, this time joiningMatlock Town.
In 2010, Styche received a call-up to theEngland C squad; he made his debut in the2009–11 International Challenge Trophy final againstPortugal U23 on 19 May 2011.[39][40] In January 2014, head coachAllen Bula named Styche as a player on his radar who could play with theGibraltar national football team in the near future.[41] On 11 February, he was called up to the Gibraltar national squad for friendlies against theFaroe Islands andEstonia. He qualifies to play for Gibraltar through his grandmother.[42]
He made his Gibraltar debut on 1 March, starting in a 4–1 defeat against the Faroe Islands.[43] Upon the arrival of new national team coachJulio César Ribas in July 2018, Styche was included in his first open squad list.[44] He was subsequently called up to Ribas's firstUEFA Nations League squad,[45] and came off the bench in both matches, againstMacedonia andLiechtenstein.[46] He scored his first international goal on 18 November 2019, in aUEFA Euro 2020 qualifier againstSwitzerland.[47]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England C | 2011 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
| Gibraltar | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 November 2019 | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar |  Switzerland | 1–3 | 1–6 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2. | 27 March 2021 | Podgorica City Stadium,Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 7 September 2021 | Ullevaal Stadion,Oslo, Norway |  Norway | 1–3 | 1–5 |
