Matt Thornhill

Matthew Mark Thornhill (born 11 October 1988) is an English footballer who plays for club Ilkeston Town. He has previously played for Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion, Cheltenham Town, Hibernian, Buxton, Shaw Lane Aquaforce and Gainsborough Trinity. His career has been disrupted by a medial knee ligament injury.

Career Nottingham Forest Thornhill made his professional debut for Nottingham Forest as a substitute at Chester City in the first round of the League Cup, which Forest won 4–2 on penalties after the game finished goalless after normal and extra time. He made his League debut five days later, coming on as a second-half substitute for Kris Commons against Swansea City. On 12 January 2008, the youngster came on as a late substitute against Leyton Orient to score his first professional goal for The Reds, the last of Forest's goals in a 4–0 victory.

Thornhill started his first Forest game when he stepped in at the last minute to replace Chris Cohen in the heart of midfield. He scored his second goal of the season in a 1–1 draw at Southend. He helped The Reds finish second in the 2007–08 season in League One, gaining promotion to the Championship. With The Reds gaining promotion, manager Colin Calderwood commented that Thornhill would be given the chance to impress the following season.

On 21 July 2009, Thornhill joined League One side Brighton & Hove Albion on loan as part of the transfer deal which saw Joel Lynch join Nottingham Forest. After making seven appearances for Brighton, Thornhill returned to Nottingham Forest in December. Thornhill then joined League Two side Cheltenham Town on a one-month loan deal in January 2010. His debut for Cheltenham came against Rochdale, and shortly after that his loan deal was extended to the end of the season.

Thornhill was released by Forest in January 2011, with manager Billy Davies alluding to "good young players here who need to move on; who need to go and have a fresh start".

Hibernian On 21 January 2011, Thornhill agreed a deal to sign for Scottish Premier League club Hibernian until the summer of 2013, subject to a medical. Hibernian confirmed the transfer a few days later, assigning the player squad number 26. His 2010–11 season was ended prematurely by a medial knee ligament injury. Thornhill was released from his contract in January 2012.

Into the National League System Thornhill signed for Northern Premier League club Buxton in November 2012.

He signed for Shaw Lane Aquaforce, then of the Northern Counties East Football League, in July 2014. He won promotion with the team to the Northern Premier League Division One South at the end of the 2014–15 season. Thornhill was club captain at Aquaforce the following season as they reached the play-off final, which the Barnsley club lost to Coalville Town.

In May 2025, Thornhill joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Ilkeston Town.

Career statistics

Honours Nottingham Forest League One Runner-up: 2008