Ferguson feels he can carve out his spot for Scotland
LEWIS FERGUSON’S name will be underlined in Steve Clarke’s notebook after he watched the midfielder score the winner against Hearts at Pittodrie.
The former Hamilton player’s reputation grows with every game in an Aberdeen strip and the header that hit the back of the visitors’ net in the 2-1 win will no doubt be on the showreel his agent will, in time, offer potential employers of the future.
The diagonal run into the opposing penalty area to connect with Dylan McGeouch’s precise cornerkick from the left merely highlighted the youngster’s increasing maturity as well as his ability to read the game as the Dons transformed their recent run of decent performances but poor results into a more positive outcome.
Ferguson may be a bit-part player in Clarke’s Scotland squad, but his presence for the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Denmark in the middle of the month is already assured.
In his usual understated way, he said of featuring in the international set-up: “That’s where I want to be and I have been in the last couple of squads. I’m hoping at the minute I can get back in that squad as well. I’ll see what happens this week, but hopefully producing performances like that in the past week won’t do me any harm.”
Ferguson referenced two wins – against Hibs and Hearts – and a draw against Rangers at Ibrox as major turning points and admitted that after a scrappy and frequently drab first half during which neither side appeared capable of scoring, the Reds heeded the halftime call to “up your game” following John Souttar’s penalty conversion seconds before the break to give the visitors the lead.
“There was a lack of quality in the first half, probably from both sides,” he conceded.
“There weren’t many chances and their penalty was the only real time in the game we were under pressure. We felt comfortable.
“In the second half we upped
it. We were told at half time the standard needed to go up and we did that.
“We changed shape as well and brought Scott Brown from centre-back into the middle of the park. That freed up the likes of myself, Dylan and Marley Watkins.”
It was the latter’s stunning equaliser that ratcheted up the noise levels from the home support and when Ferguson’s header went in there was no way back for the Tynecastle outfit.
“As soon as you score when you are a goal down this place erupts,” Ferguson said. “I think opposition teams really feel that.
“As soon as we get that goal back it is only going one way. That was when we started to put the pressure on them, got the goal and saw it out quite comfortably.”
Now in his fourth season at Pittodrie and the subject of a £2 million transfer bid by Premier League club Watford – rejected by an Aberdeen board who believed he is worth more – Ferguson was on the receiving end of a scything tackle late in the game from Andy Halliday, who was shown a red card by referee Kevin Clancy.
“I saw him coming,” Ferguson said. “I spoke to him outside the dressing room. He said he thought he was going to come across and take the ball.
“It was hard to see him because of the sun, but I could see him out the corner of my eye and managed just to ride the challenge.
“I don’t know if it was a bad one but I managed to ride it. I spoke to him and he apologised.
“There are no hard feelings but, I have not seen it back so I don’t know if it’s a really bad one or not.”