Former Leeds United striker Matt Smith is enjoying the season of his career at Salford City while overtaking the tally he set at the Championship giants a decade ago.
OK, Matt Smith might not a player many at Elland Road look back on with a great deal of nostalgia. But, from a personal perspective, Matt Smith’s brief spell in West Yorkshire was, for the most part anyway, a success. A tally of 12 Championship goals in the colours of Leeds United in 2013/14 was – a stint at Millwall aside – the most prolific league season of Smith’s career.
Well, until now, that is.
Former Leeds United striker can’t stop scoring
Smith scored his 13th – and his 14th in all competitions – of 2023/24 with a trademark towering header in Saturday’s League Two clash with Mansfield Town. As such, the veteran targetman needs only one more to make this the best season of his career. And it’s fair to say he has plenty of time on his side, the Halloween pumpkins still decaying on the doorstep.
“We know, and we’ve said it all along, if we can provide the right crosses, provide the right opportunities for him, then he will score goals,” Salford coach Neil Wood said after Smith plundered a hat-trick past Doncaster Rovers a couple of weeks ago (BeIN Sports).
“It’s important he’s in the right position in the box to (take those opportunities). And he did that tonight.”
In fact, Smith has been ‘doing that’ throughout much of the last few months. The so-called ‘curse of the ex’ claimed another victim in August, Smith scoring in typical style against former employers Leeds United, knocking Daniel Farke’s side out of the Carabao Cup nine years after the Yorkshire giants accepted a £500,000 deadline day bid from Fulham.
14 goals in 21 games
“I always look back on my time at Leeds fondly,” Smith told The Mirror, his arrival at Elland Road coinciding with the madcap Massimo Cellino era.
“I was probably there during one of the club’s most unstable periods in recent history. So it felt like I was there a lot longer than the full season that it was because so much was happening. I left in sort of unusual circumstances. There’s a lot more stories than just a season’s worth!”
Smith, at Salford, is certainly adding a few more chapters as he looks to ensure his story has a happy ending.
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