Matt finished

Oldham Athletic's Matt Smith (centre) celebrates scoring his teams second goal of the game during the FA Cup fifth round match at Boundary Park, Oldham.

Oldham Athletic's Matt Smith (centre) celebrates scoring his teams second goal of the game during the FA Cup fifth round match at Boundary Park, Oldham.
MATT Smith’s impending departure from Athletic was effectively sealed by his second dramatic intervention live on television.

If the watching scouts were waiting to be fully convinced that the giant striker was more than a flash in the pan after netting twice against Liverpool, the equaliser against Everton in the next round served the purpose. Two Premier League defences had been mauled by the 6ft 6in forward.

It wasn’t an accident that Smith had such an impact on defenders more used to dealing with opponents of more subtle means.

So what was left to ponder for the big clubs? Smith was on his first, understandably modest, professional contract with Athletic and available on a free transfer come June 30.

Moves for proven internationals costing tens of millions often fall flat, so giving Matt a whirl in a higher division isn’t much of a gamble.

Athletic, for all manager Lee Johnson’s good intentions to hone Matt’s career, never really had a prayer of matching the wage offers sure to be heading his agent’s way.

It was an open secret well before the end of the season that Smith would be leaving — which made his goal tally in the latter stages all the more impressive.

This has been an amazing turnaround for the career of a striker who just over a year ago was loaned out to the hothouse of Moss Rose in a bid to toughen him up in League Two. It wasn’t particularly successful: Macclesfield were relegated and Smith offered a single goal in eight losing matches.

For Oldham, in pre-season camp, he cut Jean-Yves Mvoto with a flailing elbow as Paul Dickov preached a better use of his physical gifts.

Usually a ‘Plan B’ option as a substitute, Smith — who scored only three times for Athletic in his debut season — had started only a handful of matches by the time he started the FA Cup third round tie at Nottingham Forest. His season completely spun on its head on a crazy afternoon.

From knocking home an own goal in the first half to terrorising the Championship side’s defence to earn a red card on the way to Athletic’s fantastic victory, the man who Forest manager Alex McLeish said caused defensive “mayhem”, suddenly found his way.

Including the subsequent cup ties, Smith scored eight goals in 16 appearances. That is what confidence does.

Possibly the most vital of all those strikes came at Bury. Smith powered onto Kirk Millar’s centre to plant a header home in front of the buoyant fans who had managed to get into Gigg Lane.

It wasn’t a gift of a chance, but the absolute assurance of the powerful finish provided an indication that this player, still in his infancy in the professional game, may well have a future at a higher level.

Thanks to Smith’s goals, Athletic have League One security and upwards of £1million banked from the knockout run.
Call it a transfer fee.