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Over the course of the last five months, Matty Daly has very clearly developed and blossomed as a footballer and his exposure to game time, it has to be said, has been key to this.
Daly’s exposure to Premier League games at such a young age serves as a great starting point to not only his career but this piece.
The now 20-year-old gained his first involvements in a Huddersfield Town senior squad at the tail end of the side’s Premier League story. After confirmation of their relegation earlier that month, young manager Jan Siewert trialled some of the young talents that he had available to him, Daly being one of those.
Whilst failing to get a contribution in either of his two Premier League games, it is hard to be looked at in-depth given the midfielder was just 18 at the time.
Under Siewert, no further chances came as the German was sacked early in the Terriers’ return to the Championship, and under new boss Danny Cowley, Daly was again shown a few chances to impress from the bench but was never given a clear run of games, even after scoring a late winner against Charlton Athletic in December 2019.
When the Cowley’s were sacked, the same happened again for the youngster under Carlos Corberán, chances came mainly from the bench, but Daly managed to start a game, his first in a blue and white shirt at senior level.
It was clear that a loan spell was needed as the starlet was not getting the playing time that could warrant the player’s progression, and with the midfielder’s last appearance for Huddersfield coming in February 2021, fuel was only added to the rumours that the 20-year-old would depart on loan in the summer.
To take you to the end of July though, Hartlepool may not have always been the destination for the 20-year-old as he spent time on trial with Rotherham United, however, his move to the North East was to be the eventual destination for the former England under-18s player.
On his arrival, former Hartlepool manager Dave Challinor spoke about the chance for him to develop during a full season and the importance it could play in the progression of a player with exposure to a high level from a young age.
“(He’s) someone who’s highly thought of and has not had a loan spell that has got him a lot of experience […] it’s the time for him to kick on and hopefully his quality will shine through”
Challinor very quickly showed his faith in the young loanee, starting him in nine games and giving the youngster cameos from the bench three times before he departed the club for Stockport County.
However, under new manager Graeme Lee, it is clear to see the trend has continued and the faith in Daly has only grown, starting 10 of a possible 14 games since Challinor’s departure and it is clear to see why.
Tuesday night’s game in the Papa John’s Trophy serves as a key indicator of Daly’s progression since he joined the Poolies on loan. Hartlepool opted for a different system from the regular 5-3-2 that has been optimised in recent times due to the excellent wing-backs the side have available and instead utilised a 4-3-3, which in attacking phases looked more like a 4-2-3-1.
Daly took his position just behind the striker and this created a diamond of attacking players who looked dangerous consistently throughout the game and looked to pounce on any Bolton mistake.
Pools’ attacks on Tuesday mainly came through the targeting of Bolton’s centre-halves, George Johnston and highly-rated captain Ricardo Santos.
This was done through lofted passes that looked to find the space in behind a defence that excelled in duels. So the idea of playing over the defence rather than through the defence seemed to work out with Hartlepool’s front three of Luke Molyneux, Joe Grey and Olufela Olomola more often than not picking up the ball from these long balls.
This often lead to situations where the ball was held out wide and then worked into the box. Hartlepool’s danger rarely came from other areas, and in the attacks, Pools seemed to have a system in which the three in attack would operate in two zones, the wing and the box, meaning that there were always at least two players in the box.
This, however, is where Daly would come in. Often the 20-year-old was left unmarked, making intelligent runs into the box, rarely getting picked up, and had two solid chances in the first half that were both saved well by Joel Dixon.
The goal that separated the two sides on Tuesday night is what truly shows Daly’s development. Dixon, up until the 83rd minute, was close to capping an overall good performance with a clean sheet.
However, the Bolton shot-stopper seemed to lack confidence playing out from the back on the day and was caught out after attempting to play a long pass. As he changed his mind and tried to play it short, the loose ball was picked up by a pressing Daly who rounded the goalkeeper and put the ball away.
Pools manager Graeme Lee praised his young midfielder and said that the finish took a lot and was not as simple as just dispossessing the goalkeeper.
“He got gifted the ball, but he still had a lot of work to do to round the goalkeeper and be composed enough to slot the ball in the back of the net […] it’s just clever play from Matty [Daly]. He’s read the situation; he wins it and his composure to finish it is fantastic.”
By no means is Matty Daly a finished product, however, the young loanee’s performances in cup competitions this year serve as a great update on his development at Hartlepool.
With confident performances becoming the norm, especially against those sides in higher divisions, it shows that Daly has certainly developed, and with another six months to go with the Poolies, with performances as they are, there is a chance that the youngster could see himself amongst the ranks of Huddersfield’s senior team once again.
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