For those of a Motherwell persuasion, Matty Connelly is a name you would have seen go out on loan, be included first-team match day squad and involved in first-team training sessions on a regular basis for a number of seasons now.
But for Connelly, that elusive first-team debut was something he still had to tick off. Joining the club as a four-year-old, the long wait went on but he didn’t let that get him down. Quite the opposite in fact.
Joining the likes of Gretna, East Kilbride, Stranraer and Falkirk during the last few seasons, he was building up his experience in a first-team environment, playing games and winning trophies.
When signed a new deal in the summer of 2025, he probably couldn’t have envisioned what was going to happen the weeks that followed.
“To sum up the last few weeks in one word, I’d say mental,” he laughed.
“I thought I was going to go straight back out on loan. Then obviously, Aston picked up a wee niggle and I kind of knew what that meant for me. It was going to stall my loan happening straight away which I wasn’t too fussed about. It’s more involvement with the first-team and game days.
“But I just thought I would be on the bench. I got my chance to play in the Cup games which felt unbelievable to be honest. I’m just really grateful to the manager for trusting me and putting me in the goal.”
That first appearance completed the full journey for Connelly. Joining as a four-year-old, playing at all the levels and then representing the first-team.
It’s only now the dust is settling on a hectic month that Connelly has had the chance to reflect on his journey at Fir Park.
“I’ve never wanted to leave the club at any stage,” Connelly explained.
“Like when I was coming through and you’re that young, you can be at different club and stuff before you actually sign your pro-youth contract which is around 10.
“So, I was in at Hearts and I had the chance to go in at Celtic and St Mirren as well but Motherwell just seemed perfect and ever since then I’ve never felt like I wanted to leave.
“Coming through all those age groups, although there’s been challenges along the way, you can see where it all leads to. I didn’t want to jump the gun and go anywhere else, I wanted to be here to see where it took me.”
One of those challenges described was actually getting the minutes for the club. Having been on loan on numerous occasions and then recalled to sit on benches during goalkeeping injury nightmares, Connelly had been on the cusp of a number of years and it did cross his mind that the chance might never arrive to play for the first-team.
“There were chances,” the goalkeeper said.
“My first match day squad that I was involved in, Mark Gillespie was the goalkeeper who was starting and I just got called in by chance.
“I think Trevor Carson, PJ Morrison and other options were all injured. I didn’t even get to sit on the bench because I was so young. That was a good experience, to come in and do the warm-up and get all excited and stuff like that.
“But as the loans went on, it did cross my mind that maybe I wouldn’t play. But the end goal was always just to try and get on the pitch one time. I’ve been here for so long, that’s the dream and I’ve finally done it.
“The first time I got called back from loan, it was Hibs on the Saturday. The only goalkeeper training on the Friday was me! Archie Mair wasn’t in until the Saturday morning.
“He didn’t meet anyone until we were travelling to Hibs so I thought there was a real high chance I could get a sniff. I got told there was a real high chance there’s most likely going to be a new goalkeeper coming in but until that happens, you always think just be ready in case I do play.
“When he came in, it did feel like a blow personally. But I just kept going.”
One thing Connelly claims has helped him during the last few months has been the numerous loans he’s been on.
Goalkeepers can be in the unique situation where they can be on a bench, train every day but no play any minutes in matches. Connelly wanted to avoid the scenario at all costs.
“The loans have been absolutely pivotal,” he stated.
“I’ve always said I’d rather go out and play instead of just being a number two or a three. The excitement of playing games is the most important thing and especially getting the experience.
“My first loan at Gretna, which was brilliant, it was only a short period I was there before I got the facial injury, it was so benefical. What a place it is, great place to start. Moving to Stranraer, that was cut short but East Kilbride was so good.
“That’s where I played the majority of my games, I think I played just under 50 games there last year. I’ve been there twice and had the chance to go back there which was no brainer.
“Getting those games and experience is vital. It moulds you and gets you one step closer to playing first-team football here.”
After Calum Ward’s heroics in the penalty shootout win over Clyde, Connelly watched from the bench and probably never suspected that in three days, he would be making his debut at Fir Park against Peterhead.
But football can throw up opportunity in a heartbeat and having received the news, Connelly had to try and focus on the task at hand and block out the nerves. But was he able to?
“No, I was nervous before the game,” Connelly laughed.
“I had lost my appetite before. I was hungry but the food just wasn’t going down. I was eating and chewing for ten minutes. But once I got out on the pitch and got the warm up done, I felt alright.
“Got back in the dressing room and everyone was hyping me up. Your mind just goes into the game at that point. I remember Liam Gordon keeping me calm in the tunnel saying I deserve to be here and that I’ve worked for it. That calmed me right before we walked out.
“He said there would be a lot of noise and that I should just block it out. But yeah, sh*****g myself!
“It wasn’t just my teammates who helped me but. Neil Alexander and the manager were brilliant. They didn’t say loads of things, they just let me be for the first one and kept me calm. Neil has done some special things like playing in European Cup finals and played for Scotland, so any advice he has you take on board.
“But they let me be in my own space so I could be comfortable in the game. The family group-chat was buzzing, the reactions were brilliant. A couple of them came to the Stenhousemuir game.
“I think it was just a superstition thing for Peterhead because I didn’t want to say anything about me starting in case it went wrong. The Stenhousemuir one, I told people I was starting!”
In the 2-1 win over Peterhead, Connelly received plenty plaudits from supporters for his impressive touches on the ball, and also his couple of saves within the game.
One of his biggest game highlights were pulling the ball out of the sky with ease on the halfway line with a striker pressing, and turning an opponent in the box with the ball. And these moments helped him settle even quicker into the match.
“After the touch out the sky, I just settled right down,” he said.
“The game was quite quiet for me up until then barring the goal but that was right at the start. So that touch was my first involvement in the game because I didn’t know what I was going to do to be honest, the ball was in the air for that long I just thought about heading it!”
With the big goal achieved, Matty Connelly now moves onto his next targets. Something that is actually very important to him.
“Look, I just want to stay humble and keep working hard,” the goalkeeper explained.
“It feels good to know that I’ve actually played for the first-team but I don’t want to change anything I do. That’s the main thing.
“There’s not been a full discussion yet but we’ll see if going on loan still happens, that got delayed. The goalkeeping department here is really high quality. Aston and Calum are great, Jack McConnell is impressive. Everyone is fighting for that one place, and I think if I’m here, I won’t be up there with Aston and Calum in terms of challenging as frequently for the number one spot.
“End of the day, I just want to play games regularly. But I’ll speak to the manager first. He’s been brilliant. I love the style and the way he plays, but he’s just a good guy. He may come across as a bit intense and stuff like that, but he does make jokes in meetings and training sessions. I love working with him so we’ll just see what happens.”
