Liam Smith (footballer, born 1996)
Liam Smith (born 10 April 1996) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Dundee United. He has previously played for Heart of Midlothian, East Fife, Raith Rovers, St Mirren and Ayr United.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 April 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Dalgety Bay, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.79 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Dundee United | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2010 | Rangers | ||
| 2010–2015 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2018 | Heart of Midlothian | 30 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | → East Fife (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2016 | → Raith Rovers (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → St Mirren (loan) | 32 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Ayr United | 33 | (1) |
| 2019– | Dundee United | 104 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Scotland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Scotland U21[2] | 12 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:11, 14 August 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 March 2019 | |||
Career
Hearts
Smith began his career as a youth player at Hillfield Swifts Boys Club, before joining Rangers aged 10.[3] Having been released by Rangers aged 14, Smith joined Heart of Midlothian (Hearts).[3] Smith signed a 2-year professional contract in July 2014, extending his stay with the club until at least 2016.[4] Aged 18 he made his first team debut[5] on 20 August 2014, in the second round of the Scottish Challenge Cup away to Livingston, playing from the start in a 4–1 loss.[6] Smith made one more appearance that season[7] before being loaned to Scottish League Two side East Fife until the end of January 2015.[8] He made his league debut on 30 August 2014, against East Stirlingshire in a 3–1 win,[9] with his first goal coming against Queen's Park on 20 September salvaging a 2–2 draw.[10] Smith's loan deal was later extended until the end of the season.[11] In all he made 23 appearances for East Fife, scoring once.[7]
On his return to Hearts Smith made his Scottish Premiership debut on 18 October, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute against Dundee United at Tannadice Park, replacing Juwon Oshaniwa in a 1–0 win.[12]
Raith Rovers loan
On 24 September 2016, it was announced that Smith had signed on loan at Raith Rovers for a month.[13] He was recalled by Hearts on 29 October 2016.[14]
St Mirren loan
On 14 August 2017, Smith signed a season-long loan deal with Scottish Championship club St Mirren.[15] It proved to be a successful loan spell as Saints won the Scottish Championship, with Smith playing 34 games and scoring twice. Smith was also part of the PFA Scotland Championship Team of the Year.[16]
Ayr United
Smith signed a one-year contract with Ayr United in August 2018.[17]
Dundee United
On 16 April 2019, Dundee United confirmed that Smith had signed a pre-contract to join the club in the summer, agreeing a two-year deal.[18]
Career statistics
- As of match played 14 August 2021[19]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 2014–15[20] | Scottish Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015–16[21] | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[22] | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18[23] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| East Fife (loan) | 2014–15[20] | Scottish League Two | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Raith Rovers (loan) | 2016–17[22] | Scottish Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| St Mirren (loan) | 2017–18[23] | Scottish Championship | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 34 | 2 |
| Ayr United | 2018–19[24] | Scottish Championship | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| Dundee United | 2019–20[25] | Scottish Championship | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 2020–21[26] | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 2021–22[27] | Scottish Premiership | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 177 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 208 | 5 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
- ^ Appearances in the Europa League
- ^ Appearances in the Scottish League Two play-offs
- ^ One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; Two appearances in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
Honours
St Mirren
Dundee United
References
- ^ "Liam Smith: Key Info". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. Dundee United F.C. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Liam Smith at the Scottish Football Association
- ^ a b "Hearts full-back Liam Smith loves his test of Methil". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Hearts kids sign on until 2016 . . ". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ . sport.stv.tv. STV. 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Livingston 4-1 Hearts". BBC Sport. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Games played by Liam Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Hearts kid Liam Smith in East Fife manager's plans". thecourier.co.uk/. The Courier. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "East Fife bounced back from defeat by Albion Rovers with a comfortable win over East Stirlingshire". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "A late goal by defender Liam Smith snatched East Fife a point against Queen's Park at New Bayview". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Duo Extend Loan Deals". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Mixu Paatelainen's reign as Dundee United manager began with a hot-tempered defeat by Hearts, courtesy of Juanma's early penalty at Tannadice". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Liam Smith Arrives on Emergency Loan". raithrovers.net. Raith Rovers F.C. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ "RRFC Official ✔ @RaithRovers_FC". Raith Rovers F.C. on Twitter. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ . St Mirren FC. 14 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "Good night for the Buddies at PFA Scotland Player of the Year awards". St Mirren F.C. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "Smith is latest signing". Ayr United FC. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ Crawford, Kenny (16 April 2019). "Ayr Utd full-back Liam Smith to join Dundee Utd on two-year deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ Liam Smith at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Liam Smith in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Liam Smith in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Liam Smith in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Liam Smith in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Liam Smith in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "Games played by Liam Smith in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Games played by Liam Smith in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Liam Smith in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2021.