Smith ready to press on

HEAD MASTER . . . Matt Smith shows his aerial prowess against Yeovil.

IF GOAL hero Matt Smith was disappointed with being dropped at Scunthorpe, he hid it well.

The 22-year-old business graduate came on as a substitute to power home a far-post header which helped Athletic to a 2-1 lead at Glanford Park eight minutes from the end of normal time.

In an all-action display, he also went head-to-head with Iron full-back Eddie Nolan in a minor tussle which saw both players receive a yellow card before spending the last couple of minutes of added time as a makeshift centre-back following Jean-Yves Mvoto's red card.

It was quite an impact from a footballer who, this time seven weeks ago, had never trained full-time.

New to the professional game after scoring 23 times in 27 matches for Redditch United, Droylsden and Solihull Moors in Blue Square North last term, Smith had suddenly taken on the task of being Athletic's main focal point of attack in the first three matches of the season.

That is why it was something of a surprise that he was left out of Paul Dickov's starting line-up as Athletic sought a first win in npower League One.

"The gaffer pulled me aside before the game to say it was nothing to do with the way I had been playing, just that he wanted to rest me with four games coming in the space of 11 days," said Smith, whose culture-shock introduction to the professional game saw him play no less than five hours of football in little over a week, including a gruelling period of extra-time against Carlisle.

There was a sense prior to the Scunthorpe game that the 6ft 6ins front man was inching closer to his first Athletic goal.

Despite hitting the crossbar twice in the same game against Carlisle in the Carling Cup and missing a good chance at Yeovil, Smith said his willingness to get into scoring positions never wavered.

His joy at converting Filipe Morais' free-kick in front of Athletic's travelling support was clear to see.

But it is testament to Smith's level head that he refused to get too carried away afterwards, preferring to talk about the gritty team effort.

"I will never shy away from opportunities or hide from the ball," he added.

"Everyone misses chances, but the main thing is to keep getting in there and I am just glad that I scored.

"I was delighted to get the goal, but more importantly that we won.

"It has given everyone that much-needed lift and I think we will press on now."

Smith was equally delighted for the other inexperienced men in Dickov's line-up at Scunthorpe, including Carl Winchester and fellow goal hero David Mellor.

"We know we have got quality youth players coming through at the club and David and Carl showed that," he added. "There are plenty more of them, too.

"I am delighted for Dave as his was a quality strike which will give him lots of confidence.

“I know when I was 18, I never had that opportunity so I can't imagine how he is feeling now."

The focus now switches to the big derby clash against Rochdale at Boundary Park on Saturday and Smith is hoping for a repeat effort.

"It is a big derby and, hopefully, we can get another three points if we put in the same shift," he said. "I am confident we will do."