Matthew Craig is a 21-year-old midfielder that has represented the Scotland U-21 side with a single cap. He’s recently had a short loan at Doncaster Rovers from Tottenham Hotspur and has been an ever-present in the League two sides push for promotion including starting both games in their play off semi-finals.
Craig is a smaller but broad frame, and actively uses his body to protect the ball, trying to get himself in front of tacklers to evade their challenge, as well as trying to win possession rather than just winning the tackle. Despite using his body well in these situations, he lacks a spring when he jumps and suffers during aerial duels, he’s often aware of this weakness and instead tries to disrupt the opposition when the ball is in the air rather than attempting to win the ball himself.
Craig shows aggression, using his short acceleration to quickly push out and put pressure on the ball. He marks tightly and isn’t afraid of being physical with his marker no matter their stature. He can be over aggressive, too physical and give away fouls, he can also try to push out too early, being attracted to the ball leaving space in dangerous areas behind him.
Off the ball Craig is very aware of space behind the opposition attack, he’s constantly scanning on the move looking to create a passing lane to beat the press and shows signs of the confidence he has in his own ability in wanting the ball at every opportunity. He continues to show strong scanning and maturity when the opposition has the ball, checking his shoulder when in his own box to screen attackers, as well as dropping into positions that cover passes inside.
To add to his strength in finding space, Craig has good technique and the ability to play passes forwards through the line, low driven cutbacks from the left when he moves up the pitch and consistently looks to play off one and two touches to set the tempo. He’s composed under pressure and is capable of disguise, playing the more difficult pass to the surprise of the opposition but will want to work on his longer aerial passes over the top, especially on his weaker left foot where his level of execution can drop significantly.
A weakness to his game is a tendency to be caught ball watching, slow to react to a quick change of direction or switching off enough to allow a runner to get ahead of him, this switch off can also lead to misjudgements of the flight of the ball. Defensively he struggles when mirroring attackers in 1v1 situations and can set himself square on or push out too quickly to one side making it easier for the attacker to shift past and he can be slightly too casual when in possession at times.
Matthew Craig already shows the technical skill and maturity to play at a higher level, his awareness of space, scanning ability, passes through the lines and aggression would be of interest to a side that looks to play possession football, where he would hope to have more of the ball to showcase his talents. He will want to continue to work on when he decides to win the ball, how he deals when defending against attackers in 1v1 situations, as well as finding a way to compete in aerial duels, but over all has a strong base to work from and clubs in leagues further up the EFL may be interested in furthering his progression on loan next season.
Target Scouting 