Darren Smith

Darren Lee Smith (born 27 March 1988) is a Scottish former professional footballer.

Smith represented the Scotland national under-21 football team once and played nearly 60 Scottish Premier League (SPL) games for Motherwell. He has also played for Ross County, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion, Clyde, Edinburgh City and East Kilbride on loan.

Early life Smith was born in Lanark and attended Carluke High School in South Lanarkshire.

Club career

Motherwell Smith started his football career at boyhood heroes Motherwell, 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. A few days later, he scored his first goal for the club against St Mirren in the League Cup. 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.

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.

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.

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

Ross County After leaving Motherwell, Smith had a trial at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He then signed for Ross County on a one-year deal. He left the club in May 2012.

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

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

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

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

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.

2005–06

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

58!!6!!8!!1!!2!!0!!2!!0!!70!!7 Stenhousemuir (loan) 2009–10 Scottish Second Division

Ross County 2010–11 Scottish First Division

Stirling Albion 2011–12 Scottish Second Division

Scottish Second Division

Scottish League One

Scottish League One

2016–17

2018–19

121!!54!!8!!1!!9!!2!!5!!2!!143!!59 Clyde 2019–20 Scottish League Two

301!!82!!22!!5!!21!!6!!17!!3!!361!!96