Christie earns his reprieve for Dons
THE hero as Aberdeen clinched a fourth successive season of European football, Ryan Christie was on a wing and a prayer at McDiarmid Park.
After scoring in his side’s 2-1 win over St Johnstone, the 22-year-old was left fervently hoping he had done enough to keep his place in the starting line-up for Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibs.
In an ironic twist, when the same two sides faced off in the last four of the competition in 2012, a 17-year-old Christie posted an antiAberdeen message on social media. His infamous tweet went viral five years later, when he arrived on loan from Celtic in January.
A full mea culpa on his unveiling at Pittodrie eased any supporter ill-feeling, while impressive cameos in a red jersey like Saturday in Perth have seen Christie further win over the Red Army.
Helping Aberdeen make their first Scottish Cup Final since 2000 would certainly not harm the winger’s popularity in the Granite City.
He will do his best on Saturday, knowing he would sit out the big day if his Treble-chasing parent club beat Rangers in the other semi-final 24 hours later.
‘I hope I have played my way into the manager’s plans for the semi-final,’ said Christie, whose replaced the injured Niall McGinn, whose groin is a cause for concern ahead of Hampden.
‘The manager said before the game that a big motivation would be to try and book our places in the semi final team. We will have to wait and see how the manager plays it. But I hope I have put a marker down with my goal.
‘It’s going to be a brilliant game and we are all looking forward to it.
‘Everyone has been asking me (about Celtic potentially facing Aberdeen in the Final) but it’s pointless speaking about it before we face Hibs. It’s a big game and everyone is looking forward to it.
‘Hibs are a very good team and they have just won the Championship. Everyone would agree they don’t belong in the Championship and it will be good to see them back in the Premiership next season.
‘We are desperate to get hold of the Scottish Cup. It’s been a long wait for Aberdeen.’
Derek McInnes’ side started like a train against opponents they had only beaten twice in nine previous encounters.
Christie opened the scoring with a piece of opportunism and skill. He ran down the right flank then motored through the limp challenges of Paul Paton and Tam Scobbie before firing the ball high beyond Alan Mannus.
Worse was to come for Scobbie when his own goal extended the Dons’ lead.
Jonny Hayes sent in a dangerous delivery from the left and the Saints defender tried to block the ball from reaching Adam Rooney at the far post. But he only succeeded in knocking it into his own net.
After a half-time rollicking from Tommy Wright, Saints were a team transformed. They got a lifeline when Steven MacLean fell under a challenge from Anthony O’Connor, with the striker later caustically branded ‘clever’ by McInnes.
Danny Swanson, back in the team alongside Richard Foster after the pair’s infamous brawl at New Douglas Park, firmly found the bottom left corner with his spot kick.
For Christie, victory was a fine way to mark his first start since February. In his bid to keep his place for Hampden he can point to being unbeaten at the national stadium en route to winning the Scottish Cup with Inverness in 2015.
‘I’ve played there twice and won twice,’ he said with a grin. ‘It would be amazing to get to another Scottish Cup final with Aberdeen.
‘Lifting the Scottish Cup with Inverness is by far the biggest highlight of my career so far. To do it again with Aberdeen would be amazing.
‘The team has been on a good run lately so it has been hard to go to the manager with any complaints about not playing.
‘The boys were doing so well and it was about being patient and trying to make an impact when I got a chance. When you do get your chance you want to impress so I was happy with my first-half performance.
‘We were off it a bit in the second half and we let St Johnstone back into the match with the penalty kick.
‘But I felt from that point onwards we showed a different side to us against a very good team.
‘We wanted to make it right after (losing 3-0 at home to Rangers) last week. We wanted to start a new unbeaten run and I think that showed in the first half today.’
Saints defender Scobbie insisted there was little he could do about the winner.
‘It was a great ball in,’ he said. ‘The ball was the “corridor of uncertainty” between the defence and the goalkeeper.
‘I had to try and get something on it because I knew Adam Rooney was waiting behind me for a tap-in.
‘Unfortunately the ball came off my foot and went in the net. On another day maybe I clear it or it goes by the post.
‘But if you’d said we would have a four-point advantage on fifth place we would have taken that before a ball was kicked.’