Alby Kelly-Heald

DOB 18/3/05

Alby Kelly-Heald was promoted to the men’s first team squad in December 2023, having signed a scholarship contract with the Phoenix through until the end of the 2026-27 Isuzu UTE A-League.

The tall goalkeeper is Lukas Kelly-Heald’s twin brother.

They both played their junior football at Island Bay United and spent a season at North Wellington before joining the Phoenix academy, where they were regulars for the reserves for the past two years.

Alby Kelly-Heald made his debut for the club’s reserves team as a 16-year-old in the south central series at the end of 2021.

Kelly-Heald went on to start 11 of the reserves’ 18 matches in the 2022 Central League season, keeping four clean sheets to help the team finish third on the table behind only Wellington Olympic and Miramar Rangers.

Started the first nine matches, keeping clean sheets in three matches. The reserves were unbeaten in their first eight games, holding Miramar Rangers and Wellington Olympic to draws before losing 1-0 to Wellington United.

In the 2022-23 season, Kelly-Heald was in goal for all nine of the reserves matches in the National League, and travelled to Argentina with the New Zealand side for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

> 2023-24 season

Alby Kelly-Heald was signed as the third goalkeeper for the first team squad, but did not make an appearance.

He was a key player for the reserves during their National League campaign, which was rewarded with a call up for the OFC U-19 Nations Cup.

During the tournament he did not concede a single goal, winning the golden glove award.

Kelly-Heald also made his senior debut in the Australia Cup in August 2024, starting in goal against South Melbourne in the round of 32 clash.

He was upgraded from a scholarship to a full pro contract in September 2024 and goes into the new campaign as the team’s no. 2 goalkeeper.