SHEEP BLAGGER
Christie’s Dons goal makes up for Twitter slur
Ryan Christie completed his transformation from online zero to supersub hero with Aberdeen fans by scoring his first goal for the club.
The on-loan Celtic midfielder and fellow substitute Jayden Stockley were thrown on by Dons boss Derek McInnes and promptly made the breakthrough against plucky Partick Thistle by each finding the net.
The home side had been struggling to find a way past the Jags defence before McInnes’ tactical change after 64 minutes.
Shay Logan and Mark Reynolds went off as Aberdeen switched to a back three with Ryan Jack slotting in alongside Ash Taylor and Andrew Considine.
Christie had been Public Enemy No.1 with the Red Army after an offensive tweet about the club surfaced when he was competing his loan switch from Celtic to the Dons.
But the Pittodrie crowd were cheering the ex-Inverness star as he and Stockley struck to lift the Dons above Rangers into second spot on
goal difference. A delighted McInnes said: “With the substitutions I felt that something had to change as we huffed and puffed a bit.
“At half-time I asked the players to find more pace and spark and tempo. They did that and they dug deep and found a way to win the game. They responded brilliantly.
“I’m delighted for Jayden and Ryan to come on and score. It shows the importance of being ready to come on and do a job and they helped win the game.
“We’re in a good place at the moment. There is still a lot of football to be played and we recognise that we’re in a fight and we’re not going to wait until the last few games to think we have a battle on our hands.
“The league table is probably what I thought it would look like with Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and St Johnstone in amongst it.
“There are no real surprises looking at where we are in the league table. We always knew we were going to be competitive and as long as we’re there in 15 games’ time then that’s all I’m concerned about.”
McInnes named the same starting 11 for the seventh match in a row.
Christie was available after he missing Wednesday’s 1- 0 defeat to his parent club but he had to be content with a place on the bench.
Thistle midfielder Christie Elliott started for the visitors after he appealed his midweek red card in the 1- 0 home loss to St Johnstone.
The home side almost took the lead in 13 minutes. Jonny Hayes teed up Kenny McLean and the midfielder hammered in a 20-yard shot that Jags keeper Tomas Cerny parried away.
The Jags could have gone ahead when David Amoo fired an inviting low cross into the six-yard box and it took a last-gasp intervention from Taylor to avert the danger before Kris Doolan could pounce.
Taylor then powered in a free header just past from Niall McGinn’s corner before McLean crashed another effort into the side-netting.
The away side almost snatched the lead five minutes after the restart when Elliott crossed from the left and Ryan Edwards headed inches past the post.
McInnes then made his double change and it quick ly pa id dividends when McGinn swung over a corner and Stockley rose to bury a closerange header.
Jags sub Ade Azeez blew a great chance to level after 79 minutes when he broke clear of the Dons defence only to crash his shot off the outside of the post.
But it wa s Aberdeen who made sure of all three points in injury time when Stockley crossed from the right and Christie prodded the ball past Cerny.