Dundee host Hamilton Academical in front of the SKY Sports cameras on Saturday and so we take a look at a player who has played for both clubs, striker Mark Stewart.
Born in Glasgow, Stewart played youth football with Celtic and Partick Thistle and started professional career at Falkirk. He made his debut for The Bairns in August 2006 as a substitute in Falkirk’s 5–0 Scottish League Cup victory over Cowdenbeath when he scored within two minutes of coming on.
In November 2007 Stewart joined Scottish Third Division side Stranraer on a five-week loan and made eight appearances, scoring six times but it was the following season which proved to be Stewart’s breakthrough at Falkirk. He scored in the second round of the Scottish League Cup in a 3–1 win over Raith Rovers and then scored his first league goal in a 2–1 loss to Inverness CT and would go on to play in 26 further times during the season, often playing out of position. Mark scored once more in the return fixture against Inverness in March 2009 in a 4–0 win and in the final game of the season came off the bench in the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers for current Dundee manager Neil McCann
In the summer Stewart signed a new one-year contract but missed the Europa League tie against Vaduz in July 2009 due to a groin injury.
Stewart scored his first goal of the season in a 3–3 draw against Celtic in November but A few weeks later a recurrence of the groin injury kept him out until January
Falkirk were relegated at the end of the season and in the First Division, Stewart soon become a key player and the club’s primary striker. At the end of the 2010/11 season, Stewart was the club’s top scorer with 17 goals (including cup competitions) and was also the division’s joint-top scorer (alongside Kris Doolan) with fifteen league goals. During the season, Stewart would score four braces, including in a 4–3 win over Hearts in the last 16 of Scottish League Cup on 21 September 2010.
With his Falkirk contract at an end, Stewart signed for English League Two side Bradford City in July 2011, alongside Chris Mitchell. Shortly after the move, Falkirk announced their intention to claim a training and development compensation fee for Stewart, who was under the age of 24, from Bradford but the fee would not be finalised until two years later, and was set by an international FIFA tribunal at £213,000.
Stewart made his debut for Bradford on the opening game of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Aldershot Town and by New Year had made fourteen appearances for the Bantams.
In January however he returned to Scotland when he was allowed to sign on loan with Scottish First Division side Hamilton Academical and made his debut in a 2-2 draw with Dundee at Dens. A month later, on March 20th 2012, Stewart scored his first goal since his return to Scotland in a 3–1 win over Dundee and after the match, Stewart stated that scoring his first goal for the club was a “relief”.
In total Stewart made 14 appearances for Accies but was released by Bradford upon his return to the club in the summer.
Stewart was then brought to Dens on trial by manager Barry Smith and joined permanently after impressing in a couple of pre season games. He was signed by Smith with a view to pairing him up front with Carl Finnigan after they had caused Dundee lots of problems playing together for Falkirk in the Dee-Fiant season two years before and Barry hoped they could spearhead a promotion push.
However the pair of them suffered an injury plagued spell and played up front together for Dundee just once when they both came off the bench in a 3-2 home defeat to Kilmarnock after Smith had left in the ill fated ‘Club 12’ season after the Dark Blues were bumped up to the SPL after Rangers demise,
Stewart made his debut on the first day of the season, starting against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, but he would make just a further four starts. He came off the bench on 12 occasions and scored three times but when Dundee returned to the second tier, Stewart was released and joined Kilmarnock.
Stewart spent the next five months in Ayrshire but played just four times after breaking his jaw in a training ground collision and was released in January when he joined Derry City and he scored on his debut in a 1-1 draw with Shamrock Rovers.
In June 2014 Stewart signed for Raith Rovers and in the next three season in Kirkcaldy scored 26 times in 155 appearances but was released in July 2017 after Raith dropped down to League Two through the play offs; Mark’s third relegation of his career.
This season Stewart joined SPFL Championship side Dumbarton and his first goal for The Sons was against Rangers U20s side in the Irn-Bru Cup in August and scored 4 goals in 34 appearances and will now face the Championship play offs with The Sons who finished in ninth.
