Association football player (born 1991)
Joseph Mason
(born 13 May 1991) is a professional
footballer
who most recently played as a
forward
for Canadian club
Cavalry
. Born in England, he was a youth international for the Republic of Ireland.
Mason began his career with
Plymouth Argyle
, his home town club, for whom he made 53
Football League
appearances. While at Cardiff he scored in the
2012 Football League Cup Final
and won promotion to the highest level of English football. Mason played youth international football for the
Republic of Ireland
by virtue of his mother, who was born in
County Mayo
.
Club career
[
edit
]
Plymouth Argyle
[
edit
]
Mason began his career as a youth player with home-town club
Plymouth Argyle
at the age of 10. He was a regular scorer for the youth team and made the step up to reserve team football with similar ease, playing his part as the club won the
Football Combination
in 2009, with Mason as the club's top goalscorer.
[3]
He signed his first professional contract with the club in May 2009,
[4]
and immediately set about breaking into the club's first team, describing becoming a professional as a very proud moment.
[5]
He began the
2009?10 season
training with the first-team squad and again featured regularly for the club's reserves. He made his competitive debut, and his first start, for the club against
Sheffield United
at
Home Park
on 5 December 2009, playing for 65 minutes before being replaced by
Craig Noone
to a standing ovation.
[6]
He signed an extension to his contract with the club in January 2010 until the summer of 2012, with
Paul Mariner
commenting that the youngster has a very bright future.
[7]
[8]
He scored his first senior goal in the return fixture against Sheffield United at
Bramall Lane
on 27 February 2010.
[9]
Cardiff City
[
edit
]
On 8 July 2011,
Championship
side
Cardiff City
agreed a £250,000 transfer fee for Mason.
[10]
Two days later the deal was completed and he signed a three-year deal with the Welsh club.
[11]
Mason made his debut for Cardiff in a 1?0 win at
West Ham United
on 7 August 2011, replacing
Craig Conway
as a second-half substitute.
[12]
He made his first start on 17 August in a home match against
Brighton & Hove Albion
,
[13]
which Cardiff lost 3?1.
[14]
Mason scored his first goal for the club on 22 October, in a 5?3 victory over
Barnsley
.
[15]
His next goal came three days later in the
League Cup
, the goal against
Burnley
meant that Cardiff reached their first League Cup quarter final since 1965.
[16]
Mason scored his fifth goal of the campaign in a 3?1 win at home to
Reading
on 2 January 2012.
Having helped Cardiff reach the
final
of the
League Cup
, Mason scored the first goal against
Liverpool
at
Wembley Stadium
on 26 February.
[17]
[18]
With the score level after 90 minutes, Mason was substituted for
Filip Kiss
.
[19]
Cardiff lost 3?2 on penalties after the game finished two-all.
[20]
Mason scored his 9th and 10th goals against fellow play-off hopefuls
Brighton
and
Middlesbrough
respectively, which put him in the top three goal scorers at Cardiff. On 20 April, Mason signed a new contract to extend his stay in the Welsh capital until the summer of 2016.
[21]
He celebrated his contract extension with a goal against
Leeds United
, then later on Mason was awarded the Club Young Player of the Year award.
[22]
He enjoyed a really impressive first season in the Welsh Capital having scored 12 goals, more than he scored in his previous two put together and Cardiff had reached the play-offs but were however knocked out by
West Ham United
in the semi-finals.
Mason collected his first goal of the 2012?13 season on 25 August against
severnside
rivals
Bristol City
, which was also his 50th appearance in a Cardiff shirt. He scored his second of the season on his third league start against
Burnley
on 27 October, before scoring one of City's goals in the 5?4 defeat to
Charlton Athletic
soon after. His fourth came on 7 December, scoring the third in a 4?1 win at
Ewood Park
against
Blackburn Rovers
. Mason scored on New Years Day against
Birmingham City
, which took Cardiff seven points clear at the top of the table. Mason registered his sixth goal of the 2012?13 season after coming on as a substitute against
Blackburn Rovers
on 1 April 2013, at
Cardiff City Stadium
.
Loans to Bolton
[
edit
]
On 11 November 2013, a loan deal was agreed with
Football League Championship
side
Bolton Wanderers
until 5 January 2014. However, the following day it was announced that Cardiff manager Malky Mackay had a change of heart over the deal and the striker stayed in South Wales, despite having travelled up to Bolton to train with them on the previous day.
[23]
[24]
A move to Bolton was finally completed on 27 November 2013 once Cardiff's injury situation had cleared up, and this allowed Mason to link up with Wanderers until the New Year on a similar arrangement to that of teammate
Kevin McNaughton
.
[25]
He made his Bolton debut on 30 November 2013 in an away defeat against
Middlesbrough
at the
Riverside Stadium
as a substitute for
Neil Danns
. His first start and goal came a week later as he opened the scoring for Wanderers in a 3?0 win over
Doncaster Rovers
at the
Reebok Stadium
.
On 20 February 2014, Mason re-joined
Bolton Wanderers
on a two-month loan,
[26]
but returned on 11 August 2014 for a full season-long loan.
[27]
On 16 September 2014, Mason scored a second half hat-trick to earn Bolton their first win of the season at home to
Rotherham United
. This was the first hat-trick scored by a Bolton player in a competitive match since
Fredi Bobic
against
Ipswich
in 2002. On 21 January 2015 his loan was terminated by mutual agreement.
Return to Cardiff
[
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]
Following his return from injury, Mason became a key part in new Cardiff boss,
Russell Slade
's plans towards the end of the
2014?15
season. The next season, Mason was rewarded the number 10 shirt and started the first 17 games of the season, with a return of 5 goals. During October, Cardiff suffered a barren run of goals scoring only 2, one where Mason scored the opener in a 1?1 with
Brighton & Hove Albion
. This resulted in Mason being dropped and new signing
Tony Watt
taking his place.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
[
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]
On 28 January 2016, Mason signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with fellow Championship club
Wolverhampton Wanderers
for an undisclosed fee.
[28]
He made his debut for
Wolverhampton Wanderers
on 2 February 2016 against Bolton, in a 2?2 draw at
Molineux
, in which he scored after three minutes of the game.
[29]
The following season saw him score four further goals (including against Midlands rivals Birmingham and Aston Villa), to add to the three for Wolves in the second half of the previous campaign. However, after another new head coach arrived -?the fourth different one at Wolves within his short spell ? Mason found himself out of his plans. On 23 August 2017, he was sent on loan to fellow Championship side
Burton Albion
until January 2018.
[30]
He scored on his debut for Burton in a 1?1 draw with
Sheffield Wednesday
on 26 August 2017.
[31]
After returning from his spell at Burton, he moved again on loan, this time to
Major League Soccer
side
Colorado Rapids
on 20 February 2018 until the end of the
2018 MLS season
.
[32]
On 12 July 2018, it was announced that Mason would end his planned season-long loan early and return to Wolverhampton.
[33]
As the 2018?19 season began in England, Mason still remained outside of the first team plans at Wolves, who had by now been promoted to the
Premier League
. On 31 August 2018, he was loaned out to League One
Portsmouth
until January in a move which saw him again link up with
Kenny Jackett
who had signed him at Wolves.
[34]
However, he made just a single appearance in the league for Pompey, appearing as a late substitute against
Wycombe Wanderers
.
[35]
On the final day of the January 2019 transfer window, his contract with Wolves was terminated by mutual agreement to allow Mason to find a new permanent club.
[36]
Milton Keynes Dons
[
edit
]
On 4 June 2019, Mason joined newly promoted League One club
Milton Keynes Dons
.
[37]
Having suffered another injury setback early in the season, Mason's appearances for the club were limited and at the conclusion of the
2019?20
campaign he was one of nine players released.
[38]
Mason re-joined the club in August 2020 ahead of the
2020?21
season.
[39]
On 19 January 2021, Mason scored a 28-minute
hat-trick
in a 3?1 home win over
Fleetwood Town
.
[40]
Cavalry FC
[
edit
]
On 10 May 2021, Mason signed a multi year deal with
Canadian Premier League
side
Cavalry FC
.
[41]
He made his debut for Cavalry on 18 July against the
HFX Wanderers
.
[42]
In his third game for Cavalry on 3 August, Mason scored his first goal for the club, netting the first goal in a 2-1 comeback victory over
Albertan
rivals
FC Edmonton
.
[43]
In January 2022, it was announced Mason would return for the 2022 season, his second with the club.
[44]
After two seasons Mason would be the leading goal scorer for the club. In January 2023, Cavalry announced they had exercised Mason's contract option for the 2023 season.
[45]
Upon completion of the 2023 season, Mason would be out of contract, ending his time with the club.
[46]
During his final season he helped them win the
2023
CPL Shield
.
[47]
International career
[
edit
]
Mason was born in
Plymouth
, but was eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland because his mother was born in
County Mayo
.
[48]
He represented the Republic at under-16 and under-18 level before being called up to the
under-19
squad for the Four-Nation tournament and their qualifying games in the
UEFA Under-19 European Championships
.
[49]
[50]
He played in their 2?0 win against
Turkey
,
[51]
and their 1?0 defeat to
Portugal
as the Irish finished second, behind
Netherlands
.
[52]
He scored twice for the Republic in their 5?0 win against
San Marino
, and played a crucial role in their 2?0 win against
Albania
.
[53]
[54]
The Irish finished second in Group 1, behind
Italy
, and both qualified for the elite round which took place in May 2010.
[55]
[56]
Mason received his first call-up to the
under-21
side in July 2010,
[57]
and made his debut two months later in a 1?0 defeat to
Switzerland
.
[58]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Mason grew up supporting Plymouth Argyle and attended
St Boniface's Catholic College
.
[59]
His older brother, Anthony, was an apprentice at the club and signed a professional contract in 2007, but was released without making a first team appearance.
Career statistics
[
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]
- As of 28 October 2023
Honours
[
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]
Cardiff City
Cavalry
Individual
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Joe Mason
.