Duane Jerome Courtney (born 7 January 1985) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Midland League Premier Division club Highgate United.
[7] Released by Birmingham in the summer of 2004 after not being offered professional terms,[8] Courtney considered giving up football before joining Northern Premier League First Division club AFC Telford United in August following a trial.
[9][10][11] He scored for Telford in a 4–2 defeat to Kidsgrove Athletic in the FA Trophy preliminary round in October, which was the team's first match in the competition.
[20][22][23] He rejected an offer from Conference National club Kidderminster Harriers in July 2006 on the advice of his agent and was eventually released by Burnley on 17 August after having his contract cancelled.
[29][30] Courtney played for TNS in both legs of their 4–4 draw on aggregate with FK Ventspils in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, a result that ended the team's involvement in the tournament due to the away goal rule.
[29][36] After "composed performances" on trial in pre-season, Courtney signed a one-year contract with Conference Premier club Kidderminster Harriers on 20 July 2009.
[39][42][43] Courtney commented in September 2009 that Kidderminster's defence was taking time to gel, saying "We've all played at a high standard, individually and collectively we are good, but there's something missing.
"[44] His first and only goal for Kidderminster came with a low shot against Kettering Town in a 2–0 away victory on 21 November 2009 and manager Mark Yates said "It was a good finish by Duane, he does it in training quite often".
[39] Following the signing of Lee Vaughan in the summer of 2010, Courtney's position at Kidderminster looked tenuous and the club stalled on a new contract as they were finalising their budget for the forthcoming season.
[51][52] He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to former club Kidderminster as a 76th-minute substitute on 14 August 2010, the opening day of 2010–11, and he conceded a penalty kick in the 89th minute that was scored by the opposition.
[60] Courtney signed with Conference Premier club Tamworth on 3 February 2011 and he made his debut as a 75th-minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Histon two days later.
[66] He made 23 appearances and scored 2 goals for Tamworth in 2013–14, which finished with the club's relegation to the Conference North, and he missed a number of matches due to hamstring problems.
[64][67] Courtney signed for Conference Premier club Alfreton Town on 4 June 2014[67] and made his debut in a 2–0 away defeat to Forest Green Rovers on 16 August.