Have you heard the one about the Bhoy who took three years to become an overnight sensation?
Ryan came on and looked a threat. I think he will kick on from here
IT HAS taken Ryan Christie over three years to become an overnight sensation with Celtic. Loaned back to Inverness immediately after putting pen to paper with his boyhood heroes in 2015, the forward then spent a season and a half, over two spells, at Aberdeen on a similar arrangement.
A former SFWA Young Player of the Year, no one would claim surprise at witnessing the guile and intelligence the player frequently brought to Derek McInnes’ side.
The blunt reality for the vast majority of players being farmed out by clubs like Celtic, however, is that for all the common sense in exposing themselves to regular first-team football, far more often than not, the door to their parent club closes gently behind them.
Coming off the bench against Hearts on Sunday, Christie did not so much knock upon it as charge at it with a battering ram.
Having won the penalty which allowed Scott Sinclair to put the Betfred Cup holders ahead, his opportunist strike paved the way for James Forrest to score after some calamitous goalkeeping by Zdenek Zlamal.
Christie’s own scoring contribution, to claim just his third goal in Celtic colours, was an exquisite combination of technique and accuracy, a leftfooter from the edge of the box which curled into the top corner.
Even before it hit the back of the net, Brendan Rodgers would have been preparing to field questions on the future of a player whose contract expires next summer.
The Celtic manager left no room for ambiguity on how highly he rates Christie, although stated that it will be for the club and the player’s representatives to decide where he plays his football during his peak years.
Belatedly, though, windows of opportunity may present themselves. Olivier Ntcham, who Christie replaced at the interval, was the subject of interest from Porto in the summer and seems set to fly the nest at some stage.
At 33, Scott Brown does not have time on his side and may be tempted to explore an opportunity floated by Western Melbourne. In that eventuality, Callum McGregor could reprise the holding midfield role he played after Eboue Kouassi left the action midway through the first half of the semi-final.
For long enough, Christie has simply not had the opportunity at Celtic with which to display his talent. If more stages like Sunday’s are afforded to him, though, few doubt his ability to shine on them.
‘I am so happy for him, he is a great talent,’ said Kristoffer Ajer, who himself benefited from a loan spell at Kilmarnock.
‘He came on and really looked a threat,’ added Forrest. ‘The manager has got no doubts about his ability. He has really been coming on. He has just been biding his time. I think he will really kick on from Sunday.’
Continuing the effusive praise for the Scot’s contribution, Ntcham added: ‘Ryan really changed the game. He won the penalty and scored a great goal. I hope he can go on to the next level because he works hard every day in training and it’s good to have him around.’
If Christie’s sparkling 45 minutes was the main story of the day, the sub-plot concerned an individual whose infuriating inconsistency of late has maddened and perplexed his supporters in equal measure.
Virtually unplayable in his first season under Rodgers, Sinclair somehow regressed while standing in the shadow of the three domestic trophies he played a huge part in his side winning.
Appearing as an early replacement for Kouassi against Hearts, though, he wound back the clock. For reasons perhaps only he can explain, confidence and composure on the ball seemed to be part of his DNA again. He was never missing the penalty which Christie won and was a constant, menacing force on the wing for the 64 minutes he was on the field.
‘Ryan and Scott did really well when they came on,’ Forrest reflected.
‘They really lifted us and gave us a boost. Their energy changed the game. We scored three after they came on and we could have scored more.’
The emphatic final score would have been satisfying to Rodgers in any event but the adversity which his side overcame to achieve it would have added to its allure.
This was, after all, a team shorn of Scott Brown, Leigh Griffiths, Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata before the game and by the departures of Kouassi and Ntcham by its midway point.
Even though Hearts had their own personnel issues, there was a sense that a depleted Celtic side who had lost in Europe were there for the taking.
‘The manager has said all week that it’s not always the ones who start that matter, it’s the ones who come on and make an impact and finish the game,’ added Forrest.
‘The day after we got back he told us we had always bounced back from disappointing results in Europe. It does give you confidence, does give you hope. We did it again on Sunday.’
Bouncebackability, as Iain Dowie once put it, is a trait many managers desire but too few can summon from a squad after the kind of morale-sapping defeat Celtic suffered in Leipzig.
Rodgers seems to know exactly what buttons to press at the right moment. For a fifth successive time under his reign, Celtic followed a European loss with a
victory in the latter stages of this competition.
‘The key to that is simply just to keep going,’ added Ntcham. ‘When we lose we have to go out and become winners again. You have to look forward because we have so many games to play that, if we start looking back, we will be in trouble.’
No one epitomised the professionalism and focus that seems to permeate all corners of Rodgers’ squad more than Filip Benkovic.
The tragic events at the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening must have been hard for the on-loan Leicester defender to come to terms with yet he did what he’s paid for admirably under the most difficult circumstances.
‘Of course it was a tragedy what happened. And everyone sends their thoughts to the families and people involved,’ added Ajer.
‘But Filip turned up 100 per cent ready to play. He showed his class.’
The understanding Ajer and Benkovic showed in just their second outing together was key to Scott Bain’s afternoon being far quieter than he would have anticipated.
Seemingly Rodgers’ pick for this competition, the keeper can only hope he retains that faith when Aberdeen come into view on December 2. ‘The manager believes in me to give me these opportunities to play in the cup,’ said the goalkeeper.
‘He’s just told me on a game-by-game basis and I’ve been fortunate to be on the winning side and kept my place in the competition.
‘It was probably the biggest crowd I’ve experienced. It was a great atmosphere to be involved in.
‘I stay pretty close to Murrayfield and pass by it nearly every day. I never thought I’d be playing there. It’s a rugby stadium and I’m definitely not built for rugby.’