When Wales’ Euro 2020 qualifying campaign was on the verge of collapsing, up stepped Kieffer Roberto Francisco Moore, a 6ft 5in striker who started his career with Truro City and in 2015 had been playing in the Eliteserien in Norway for Viking Stavanger. A Barnsley player at the time of his first call-up for the Welsh national time, Moore qualified through his maternal grandfather and boy, Wales were lucky that he did.
Kieffer Moore began his career in the Conference South league, with Truro City signing in 2012 as a 19 year old, and was described by their manager Lee Hodges as the club’s most important player due to his eye for goal. After 13 goals in 22 apperances for the Cornish side, Moore decided to seek out a new club and in February 2013 moved to Dorchester Rovers, while an injury had restricted him from making an impact with his new club, he ended the season with 20 goals in 35 apperances for Truro and Dorchester. While plying his trade in the Conference South, Moore combined his dream of becoming a footballer with jobs as a personal trainer and lifeguard. However things were about to change for the striker.
In June 2013, Moore went on trial with then Championship side Yeovil Town, and after impressing during his month trial, Yeovil agreed to sign him from Dorchester, a massive jump of four tiers in the English system.
During his time at Yeovil Town, Moore was in and out of the side as a result of inury and struggling to adapt to the level of the Championship, Yeovil were relegated to League One at the end of the 2013-14 season and after second consecutive relegation in the 2014-15 season, Moore was released by Yeovil and left without a club. In August 2015, Moore seeked out pastures new and agreed a one year deal with Norwegian side Viking, during his time in Norway, Moore struggled to adapt to life in different conditions and by Christmas, Viking had placed him on the transfer list, having left Norway, Moore came back to England and had trials with Exeter City and Leyton Orient. On January 18, 2016 Moore signed for Forest Green Rovers, and made his debut as a central defender but after seeing his qualities as a target man, the manager soon moved him back to his prefered position as a forward. Moore helped Forest Green reach the play-off final for a place in the Football League but unfortunately he was denied the chance to play in the final against Grimsby Town as he ruptured his appendix after the semi-final win over Dover Athletic. In January 2017, Moore again had a chance of Championship football as he signed for Ipswich Town for £10,000 after impressing during a loan spell at Torquay United.
Unfortunately Moore again failed to deliver at Championship level, playing 11 times for Ipswich but failing to find the net, in July 2017 he was loaned to League One side Rotherham United, it was with the Yorkshire club that found form, he scored a hat-trick on his home debut and by October was the league’s top scorer with 11 goals. The goals dried up but he did score a 96th minute equaliser against local rivals Doncaster Rovers and ended up with 13 goals in 22 apperances after his season was cut short due to injury. In January 2018, Moore signed a permanent deal with another Yorkshire side in Barnsley. It was in the 2018/19 season that Moore grabbed the headlines and put him in consideration for international football, he scored 17 goals in 31 matches and was named in the PFA Team of the Year for League One as his performances helped Barnsley gain promotion to the Championship. He was invited to a Wales training squad in May 2018 after frantic searches for his grandfather’s birth certificate to prove that he had some Welsh heritage and thus qualified to play for the National team.
In the summer of 2019, Moore was again on his travels as he left Yorkshire for Lancashire as he agreed a three-year deal with Championship side Wigan Athletic. Not a prolific goal-scorer with Wigan, it was his performances as a target man that caught the eye of Ryan Giggs, and it was exactly what Wales needed, a forward who could bully defenders and be a nuisance all game long. After his debut against Belarus in a friendly, it was during the remaining Euro 2020 qualifiers where Moore made an instant impact and became a hero of the Welsh public. He scored his first international goal in a crucial qualifier in Trnava against in Slovakia and went on in November to score the opening goal in a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan in Baku.
As a forward he doesn’t have the flair of Craig Bellamy or Robert Earnshaw or is not as mobile as other big men such as John Hartson, but when Wales needed a different tactic and a presence up front, the big man from Torquay stepped up and made a difference in getting Wales into Euro 2020. Even when Aaron Ramsey scored a header against Hungary, the crowd at the far side of The Cardiff City Stadium thought it was Moore, such was his impact as a target man, he’s an outlet from defence and he will run after every cause and in such a short amount of time has become an intergral part of Ryan Giggs side and will be a shoe-in to star at Euro 2020.
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