*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
Steve Breach
Appearances: 129+2 Goals: 7
Date / Year of birth: 12th January 1954
Position: Centre-back
Season of first appearance: 1972/73
Season of last appearance: 1974/75
Also played for: Arsenal (0), Brighton & Hove Albion (0), London City (Canada), Dover, Crawley Town, Three Bridges, Horsham, Oakwood, Lewes, Wick and Broadbridge Heath
5' 10" tall defender born in Brighton who started his career at Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1971 and had two seasons there as a professional before moving on to his hometown club.
After two seasons with Brighton Steve joined Margate in February 1973, initially on a month's trial, and made his debut in a 2-1 win at Dartford on 20.2.73. He made an instant impression in his role at the heart of the Margate defence and four days later his display in a 2-2 draw at Chelmsford was described as "a splendid performance" by the Thanet Times. Its sister paper the Isle of Thanet Gazette called Steve "a big asset" and went on to describe him as "a first class prospect" who "could well blossom into top-grade material". Steve was also said to be "ice cool" and a "rugged tackler with a long loping stride".
On 12.3.73 he was outstanding in a 2-0 win over Hillingdon at Hartsdown Park and scored when he went forward for a corner. However Steve lost his St.Christopher medallion during the match and this led to Margate manager Les Riggs and former boss Almer Hall combing the pitch for it the following day. Fortunately they were successful in their search. By the end of the 1972/73 season Steve had made 18 appearances and scored once.
He really established himself during the 1973/74 campaign and had an outstanding season. Steve turned in a string of impressive displays and made 59 appearances. He was described by the local press as being "magnificent" and "commanding" and in October 1973 the Isle of Thanet Gazette said that Steve "seems to improve with every game". However on 27.10.73 he was sent off for kicking an opponent as Margate went down 3-1 at Dartford. Steve scored three goals during the season, including two headers in a 3-2 win at Canterbury on 9.10.73, and on 13.4.74 he was in the side that won the Kent Senior Cup with a 2-0 win at Maidstone.
During the 1974/75 campaign Steve made a further 54 appearances (two as sub) and scored three goals, including an excellent volley in a 3-0 win over Guildford & Dorking on 28.4.75. On 2.11.74 he was booked early on during Margate's FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round tie at Wycombe and committed so many fouls that he seemed certain to be sent off. This led to Steve being substituted after just 38 minutes. On 16.11.74 he had a poor game as Margate drew 3-3 with Weymouth and his suspect positioning during the match led the Thanet Times to say that Steve "roamed out to the flanks like a stray dog scavenging for food". Towards the end of the season he lost his place in the side and at the end of the campaign Steve was released.
During the summer of 1975 he had a spell in Toronto, Canada where he played for London City alongside the likes of Phil Brooman, Barry Brown, Ray Flannigan, John Hold, Graham Sawyer and Paul Smith. Steve then linked up with Dover in October 1975 as it was the close season in Canada but he soon returned to London City and ended up spending three seasons with them under player-manager Graham Sawyer before signing for Crawley in November 1977.
He went on to play for Crawley for ten years and became something of a legend there, making almost 500 appearances and having a testimonial match against a Chelsea side in May 1987.
In the summer of 1987 Steve moved into the Sussex County League and joined Three Bridges as player-manager. During the 1987/88 season he returned to Thanet to play for them in an FA Vase tie at Ramsgate.
After three years at Three Bridges Steve joined Horsham, purely as a player, for the start of the 1991/92 campaign. He left the club to play for Oakwood during the 1993/94 season but returned to Horsham for the 1994/95 term. Steve won the club's 'Players' Player of the Year' award for the season and in October 1997 he was appointed as Horsham's joint player-manager. In February 1998 he was sacked and he left the club having made well over 200 appearances.
He then joined Lewes as a player only and made 15 league appearances for them before the end of the 1997/98 campaign. By that time Steve was 44 and he left the club in the summer of 1998.
He carried on playing and during 1999 he was at Wick before moving to Broadbridge Heath of the Sussex County League Division 2.
It was whilst playing for them at the age of 48 that things turned sour for Steve, 43 minutes into the first match of the 2001/02 season he attempted to shield the ball from an opponent in midfield and collided with him. This resulted in the opponent falling to the pitch holding his nose and Steve was sent off, much to his surprise as he'd only been dismissed once before in his entire career. Two days after the match Steve was shocked to be arrested and three weeks later he was charged with occasioning actual bodily harm - it turned out that the injured opponent was a police officer, something which Steve didn't know until after his arrest.
In March 2002 he found himself on trial at Croydon Crown Court for five days, the suggestion being that he'd deliberately elbowed his opponent, but thankfully Steve was cleared of the charge. Clearly it was bizarre for such a routine football matter to end up in court in the first place, but Steve's contention that he'd merely been trying to 'make himself big' to shield the ball was unanimously accepted by the jury and he was acquitted.
The story surrounding the case made the national press and former Football Association official Graham Kelly wrote about Steve's plight in The Independent of 18.3.02 under the heading "Courts are no place for routine sporting mishaps". After the case ended the Sussex County Football Association quashed Steve's red card and cancelled his appeal hearing against the 35 day suspension he was given following the incident and Kelly's article suggested that Steve might play on in 2002/03.
Steve worked as an industrial cleaner whilst at Margate but in 2002 he was a transport manager.
By 2007/08 he was manager of Oakwood's Under-16's team and during 2009/10 Steve was in charge of Crawley Down's youth side.
His nephew Chris Breach was on Brighton's books during the early 2000's and later played non-league football for clubs including Bognor Regis and Lewes.
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KFC | |
|
1972/73 (MFC) |
18 (64) |
0 |
1 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (7TH OF 22) |
3R |
3QR |
1R |
2R |
GR |
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KMT | |
|
1973/74 (MFC) |
59 (65) |
0 |
3 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (17TH OF 22) |
4QR |
2R |
SF |
W |
GR |
| Played in Kent Senior Cup Final (13.04.74 - beat Maidstone United 2-0). | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KMT | |
|
1974/75 (MFC) |
52 (66) |
2 |
3 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (7TH OF 22) |
4QR |
2R |
RU |
2R |
GR |
| Played in Southern
League Cup Final 1st Leg (05.04.75 - lost 2-0 at home to Kettering
Town). Played in Southern League Cup Final 2nd Leg (12.04.75 - drew 1-1 at Kettering Town). | |||||||||