Ovendale was born in
Leicester and began his career with local village team Leverington before joining
Wisbech Town. He moved to
Northampton Town, playing six league games in the 1994–95 season. He joined Welsh champions
Barry Town in August 1997 and after a successful first season, joined
AFC Bournemouth for a fee of £30,000 in July 1998. He quickly became the first choice in the Bournemouth goal, making his Cherries' debut on the opening day of the 1998–99 season, a 2–0 win at home to
Lincoln City. He remained a regular over the next two seasons before a £425,000 move took him to
Luton Town in August 2000. Luton manager
Ricky Hill installed Ovendale as his first choice goalkeeper, but he struggled to make an impact and spent the season in and out of the side, with former first choice
Nathan Abbey replacing him on a number of occasions. With Abbey released and Luton relegated at the end of the season, Ovendale found himself as second choice goalkeeper, following the signing of
Carl Emberson. He appeared only sporadically over the next two seasons and was released in 2003. In late July that year he re-signed for Barry Town, but just two weeks later joined
York City. York were relegated to the
Conference at the end of the season, and Ovendale was one of a number of players released. He signed for non-league
Tiverton Town in the summer of 2004, where he remained until May 2006 when he joined Welsh side
Carmarthen Town. He played for Carmarthen in the
Inter-Toto Cup against Finnish side
Tampere United, but left in July 2006 to join
Newport County, signing as a replacement for the injured
Tony Pennock. He was forced to retire from playing in June 2007 due to a hip injury. ==Coaching career==