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Sam Malcolmson
Samuel Alan Malcolmson (2 April 1947 – 18 September 2024) was a Scottish-born footballer who represented New Zealand internationally after he became a naturalised New Zealander in 1976. He played for teams in Cornwall, Scotland, Northern Ireland and New Zealand. Career in the United KingdomMalcolmson was born in Cresswell, Dumfries, Scotland, on 2 April 1947.[4] Raised in nearby Dalbeattie, he served in the Royal Navy. At 17, he represented the British Combined Services in association football and athletics.[5] Whilst stationed at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, he played 14 games (5 goals) for Falmouth Town.[5] He went on to play for Airdrieonians,[1] then the team from the town of his birth, Queen of the South,[6] and Albion Rovers in his native Scotland.[7] In Northern Ireland, he played with Portadown for two spells.[5] He then emigrated in 1974 to New Zealand.[7] New ZealandMalcolmson was often used as a striker and scored more than 50 goals in New Zealand's National League, but he was also comfortable with playing defence.[8] Malcolmson became a naturalised New Zealander on 28 July 1976,[4] and scored on his full New Zealand men's national team international debut less than two months later in a 2–0 win over Burma on 13 September.[9] He went on to represent the All Whites at the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals in Spain, his sole appearance at the tournament being his last game for New Zealand in a 5–2 defeat against his native Scotland.[10][11] In doing so, he became the second of three players with Queen of the South among his ex-clubs to travel to the World Cup finals after George Hamilton and before Bernie Slaven. Malcolmson is the only one of the three to actually play at the finals.[7] Including friendlies and unofficial games against club sides, Malcolmson played 32 times for his adopted country,[10] scoring 5 goals,[12] ending his international playing career with 15 official A-international caps and 2 goals to his credit.[7][13][14] After playingIn 2013, Malcolmson became a founding committee member of the independent group Friends of Football.[15] Malcolmson died in Auckland on 18 September 2024, at the age of 77.[5] References
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