Huddersfield Town player recovered impressively from Leeds United nightmare: View | OneFootball

There can’t be many worse full debuts in the history of the EFL than that of Alex Smithies, with Huddersfield Town fans left wondering if they’d ever see the shot-stopper again after his first full 90 minutes between the sticks.

A trip to Elland Road for a Yorkshire derby is a hotbed of fervour and anxiety at the best of time, but for a 17-year-old without a a full professional match under his belt it must have been absolutely nerve-shredding.

The momentous occasion soon proved to be a day to forget for the teenager, with Leeds United running out 4-0 winners over their local rivals in December 2007, thanks to a brace from Jermaine Beckford which was bookended by strikes from Jonathan Douglas and Tore Andre Flo.

Despite that disastrous start to life as a senior Terriers player, Smithies went on to prove himself as a much-trusted custodian during his time at the John Smith’s Stadium, with over 250 appearances for the side and a League One promotion on his CV to go with it.

Alex Smithies’ disaster debut sees Leeds United run rampant in Yorkshire derby

A week before the Elland Road fiasco Smithies would never have even dreamed of being the number one choice for the clash against their local rivals the following weekend, but a midweek trip to Southend changed matters entirely.

Taking up his usual spot on the bench at Roots Hall, the teenager was called into action for the final 15 minutes of the game in Essex, as regular shot-stopper Matthew Glennon was sent off for a foul on Leon Clarke.

With the side already 2-1 down, hopes weren’t high for the 17-year-old as he played his first minutes in the EFL, and he was barely given a chance as the Shrimpers added two more goals to their tally before the game came to an end.

That brief cameo paled in comparison to what was to come three days later, with less than 72 hours to prepare for his first 90 minutes in goal for Huddersfield, at the home of their Yorkshire rivals no less.

With passion running high through both sets of fans, there can’t be many more fearful places to be making your bow as a professional footballer, and Smithies felt the wrath of the hosts from the first whistle at Elland Road.

Less than half an hour in, and he was already picking the ball out of his pwn net, as Douglas’ shot from 25 yards skipped past him into the bottom corner, before Beckford grabbed his first just after halftime.

The young shot-stopper tried his best to stem the flow, but even when he did keep David Prutton from scoring, Beckford was on hand to gobble up the rebound, with the youngster learning his trade in the most brutal of manners.

With barely any resistance shown by the defence in front of him, United were running riot on Smithies’ goal, and it was only a matter of time before a fourth was scored, and Flo duly grabbed at his chance with minutes remaining to round off a terrible day at the office for Smithies and his teammates.

For a young player to take such a beating in his first full-match in the EFL would have been hard to take, and it was no surprise that the shot-stopper was taken out of first-team action for the remainder of the campaign, with his confidence likely shot to bits.

The feeling around Huddersfield at the time wasn’t a good one, with Andy Ritchie given the boot before Stan Ternent had a brief spell in charge, while Gerry Murphy tried to steer the ship as caretaker while managers came and went.

It was indeed Murphy who gave Smithies his big break in the following campaign, as he dropped Glennon for the young glovesman, before sticking by the teenager as he racked up 28 appearances in his breakthrough season.

And so was the case for much of the next seven years, with two centuries of appearances under his belt, although injuries prevented him from playing bigger parts in the two playoff campaigns in the third tier, although he turned up when it mattered the most.

Smithies' heroics secures Huddersfield Town Championship status after Sheffield United playoff victory

With only 15 appearances throughout the 2011/12 season after returning from injury in the February, Town opted for the experience of Ian Bennett in net for the both ties against MK Dons, only for the goal-repellent to get injured himself half an hour in.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Smithies took the opportunity with both hands, as he kept the visitors at bay to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory and set up a showdown with Yorkshire neighbours Sheffield United at Wembley.

Once again, Smithies was given the nod, and once again Town’s staunch defensive rearguard kept the Blades at bay, with the 120-minute stalemate having to be decided by the lottery of penalty kicks.

In some ways the 12-yard shootout is a no-lose situation for a goalkeeper, but the Town custodian turned it into a can’t-lose scenario, as he saved two spot-kicks, before smashing in the winning effort to send his side into the Championship.

From Elland Road to Wembley, it was quite the turnaround for the penalty area commander, and he was rightly the toast of the town after such a standout performance on the biggest stage.

But much as they were until their recent relegation, Town spent the majority of their time fighting off relegation after getting into the second tier, with three successive finishes between 19th and 16th, with Smithies playing in all but three of those matches.

From that disastrous beginning at Elland Road, he had turned it round into becoming a trusted feature between the sticks for the Terriers, with his performances earning him a move to Queens Park Rangers for a move believed to be in the region of £1.5 million.

To earn that sort of money off of an academy graduate is always good business for any club, but it also proved that Town made the right call in sticking by their number one, despite his tricky start to life in the EFL.

After two seasons at QPR, Smithies moved onto Cardiff City, before going on to make 100 appearances for the Bluebirds in all competitions.

In the end, the injury problems that had plagued him earlier in his career got the better of him, and he retired at the start of 2024 after failing to make a single appearance in over 18 months at Leicester City.

He will always be someone fondly remembered by Terriers' fans though, for both the stoic and heroic, and will have given them memories at the Home of Football to last a lifetime.