He played one match with the Eagles in the New South Wales Division 1 competition at the age of 15 in 1986, and was soon signed by National Soccer League club St. George for 1987.

Bingley then signed for the Marconi Stallions, and in his first season with the club, made 24 appearances for two goals as they finished second in the premiership before taking the title with a 1–0 win over West Adelaide in the Grand Final.

[4] 1997 saw Bingley move outside Australia for domestic football for the first time, with Zenith Sports and Event Management engineering his signing with J1 League club Vissel Kobe in Japan.

Bingley played 11 matches for JEF United in 1998 before returning home in time for the launch of new Sydney NSL club Northern Spirit FC towards the end of the year.

[9] He played the full 98 minutes in Perth's 1–0 sudden-death extra time win over Parramatta in the Grand Final, securing the last ever NSL Championship.

[10] Like many Australian football players at the time, Bingley moved to Malaysia at the closure of the NSL to play with Pahang in the newly formed Malaysian Super League.

Bingley made 20 appearances for Sydney throughout the league season, as well as playing in the team's 1–0 victory over African champions Al Ahly which secured 5th place overall in the CWC.

Matthew had a stellar season after settling into the position of attacking midfield, which saw him claim the club's golden boot award (seven goals) and named best and fairest.

In the second of the Japan matches, played at Lakeside Oval in Melbourne, Bingley scored his first ever international goal just seven minutes after replacing captain Paul Wade, to seal a 3–0 victory for Australia.

[23] After playing in the second leg of the 1996 ONC,[22] Bingley added a further two goals to his international tally in two consecutive matches against New Zealand and South Korea in January 1997.