Darren Smith (footballer, born 1988)

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Darren Smith
Personal information
Full name Darren Lee Smith
Date of birth (1988-03-27) 27 March 1988 (age 33)
Place of birth Lanark, Scotland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Winger/Forward
Club information
Current team
 Edinburgh City
(on loan from East Kilbride)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2010 Motherwell 72 (8)
2010 → Stenhousemuir (loan) 2 (0)
2010–2011 Ross County 7 (0)
2011–2012 Stirling Albion 33 (4)
2012–2014 Stenhousemuir 58 (22)
2014–2019 Stirling Albion 121 (61)
2019–2020 Clyde 22 (4)
2020– East Kilbride
2021– → Edinburgh City (loan)
National team
Scotland U19
2007 Scotland U20 1 (0)
2007 Scotland U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:21, 16 July 2020 (UTC)

Darren Lee Smith (born 27 March 1988) is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Edinburgh City, on loan from East Kilbride.

Smith represented the Scotland national under-21 football team once and played nearly 60 Scottish Premier League (SPL) games for Motherwell.[1] He has also played for Ross County, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Clyde.

Early life[]

Smith was born in Lanark and attended Carluke High School in South Lanarkshire.[2]

Club career[]

Motherwell[]

Smith started his football career at boyhood heroes Motherwell,[3] and became one of their youngest ever players when he made his debut aged 16, appearing as a substitute against Inverness CT in the 2004–05 season.[4] It would be the 2005–06 season before he would feature in the team again, coming on as a substitute as Motherwell defeated Falkirk 5–0.[5] A few days later, he scored his first goal for the club against St Mirren in the League Cup.[4][6] He then suffered an injury which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The 2006–07 season was a more prolific one for Smith. Despite this being an unsuccessful season for Motherwell, who finished 10th in the SPL, Smith made 13 starts and 6 substitute appearances, scoring three goals. The first and most notable of his goals was a last minute equaliser against Celtic on 30 December 2006.[4][7]

The 2007–08 season was Smith's most successful in his time at Motherwell so far, as Motherwell finished 3rd in the SPL and qualified for the UEFA Cup. He made 27 appearances, scoring four goals. Two came against Aberdeen in the SPL, the second being the opener in the 2–1 victory on 10 May that effectively sealed Motherwell's UEFA Cup qualification.[8]

Smith found himself on the fringes of the first team in the 2008–09 season, making only one start and failing to find the net. At the start of the 2009–10 season, he was forced to have hip surgery after tearing cartilage during pre-season.[9]

Smith spent a month on loan at Stenhousemuir in early 2010,[10] but played only twice due to injury.[4]

Smith was released by Motherwell at the end of the 2009–10 season.[1] [3]

Ross County[]

After leaving Motherwell, Smith had a trial at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He then signed for Ross County on a one-year deal.[1] Manager Derek Adams commented that "Darren is a young player with a lot of potential as well as a lot of experience. I'm delighted that after his trial period we have been able to reach an agreement with him."[1]

Stirling Albion[]

On 28 July 2011, Smith signed for Stirling Albion of the Second Division after being released by Ross County.[11] He left the club in May 2012.

Stenhousemuir[]

Smith signed for Stenhousemuir during the 2012 summer transfer window.[12]

Stirling Albion[]

In June 2014, Smith signed for Stirling Albion for a second time.[13] In January 2016, he was named as Scottish League Two Player of the Month for December 2015.[14] On 9 February 2016, in Stirling Albion's 7–0 win against Montrose, Smith scored a hat-trick in the space of four minutes.[15]

Smith won two more Player of the Month awards during the 2017–18 season, in August[16] and December.[17] At the end of the season he was voted PFA Scotland League Two Player of the Season.[18]

Clyde[]

On 24 May 2019, Smith signed for Clyde on a one-year contract.[19]

East Kilbride[]

Lowland League club East Kilbride announced the signing of Smith on 15 July 2020.[20] Smith was loaned to Edinburgh City in March 2021.[21]

International career[]

Smith made his debut for the Scotland under-21s in the spring of 2007, playing the second half of a 2–0 defeat against the Germany under-21s.[4] He also played for his country at under-19 and under-20 level.

Career statistics[]

As of 21:21, 16 July 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Motherwell 2004–05[22] Scottish Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2005–06[23] 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
2006–07[24][25] 17 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 19 3
2007–08[26] 23 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 27 4
2008–09[27][28] 16 0 3 0 0 0 2[a] 0 21 0
2009–10[29] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 58 6 8 1 2 0 2 0 70 7
Stenhousemuir (loan) 2009–10[30][31] Scottish Second Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Ross County 2010–11[28][32] Scottish First Division 7 0 0 0 1 0 1[b] 0 9 0
Stirling Albion 2011–12[28][33] Scottish Second Division 33 4 1 1 1 0 1[b] 0 36 5
Stenhousemuir 2012–13[28][34] Scottish Second Division 32 9 3 2 3 2 3[b] 0 41 13
2013–14[28][35] Scottish League One 26 7 2 0 1 1 4[b] 1 33 9
Total 58 16 5 2 4 3 7 1 74 22
Stirling Albion 2014–15[28][36] Scottish League One 13 1 0 0 1 0 1[b] 1 15 2
2015–16[28][37] Scottish League Two 24 9 5 0 0 0 0 0 29 9
2016–17[28][38] 30 11 2 0 4 1 1[b] 0 37 12
2017–18[39] 31 22 1 1 4 1 3[c] 1 39 25
2018–19[40] 23 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 11
Total 121 54 8 1 9 2 5 2 143 59
Clyde 2019–20[41] Scottish League Two 22 2 0 0 4 1 1[b] 0 26 3
Career total 301 82 22 5 21 6 17 3 361 96
  1. ^ Appearances in the Europa League
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  3. ^ One appearance and one goal in the Scottish Challenge Cup and two appearances in the Scottish League One play-offs

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Ross County sign former Motherwell winger Darren Smith". BBC Sport. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Darren Smith fighting fit for Ross County". Lanark Gazette. Johnston Press. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Darren Smith leaves the club". Motherwell F.C. Official Website. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e "SMITH OUT TO HAVE HIS PICTURE IN THE PAPERS". Scottish Professional Football League. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Motherwell 5–0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 17 September 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  6. ^ "St Mirren 0–2 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 20 September 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  7. ^ McGuigan, Thomas (30 December 2006). "Motherwell 1–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Motherwell 2–1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  9. ^ "No repairs for Camara". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Well's Smith joins Stenny on loan". BBC sport. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Bar bill buys striker". Stirling Observer. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Scottish Division Three ins and outs". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  13. ^ Jones, Gareth Iwan (25 June 2014). "Three new boys". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  14. ^ "LEAGUE TWO AWARDS DOUBLE FOR STIRLING". Scottish Professional Football League. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Stirling Albion: Darren Smith joins rapid hat-trick club". BBC Sport. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Dave Mackay hailed for transforming Stirling Albion into title contenders". Stirling Observer. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  17. ^ "SMITH NETS PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD". Scottish Professional Football League. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  18. ^ "PFA SCOTLAND AWARDS 2018: THE WINNERS". PFA Scotland. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  19. ^ "NEW SIGNING: Darren Smith". Clyde F.C. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  20. ^ @officialekfc (15 July 2020). "A big K-Park welcome to former Clyde, Stirling Albion and Motherwell front & wide man, Darren Smith" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ @EdinburghCityFC (18 March 2021). "