The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Maddison’s late show shows depth of talent
Premiership: O’Connor hails the Dons attacking options
Defender Anthony O’Connor believes Sunday’s last-gasp win against Rangers is proof the Dons are more than just a oneman team. Jonny Hayes scored the opener and then gave away the penalty which led to Andy Halliday equalising for Rangers. But teenage midfielder James Maddison has the final say as his set-piece sensation sealed a thrilling 2-1 victory against the Ibrox side. And O’Connor is delighted his team is no longer having to rely too heavily on attacker Adam Rooney.
The Irish goalscorer has already scored five this term following on from the 20 he managed last season before injury ended his campaign early.
But his compatriot thinks the Dons now carry a threat throughout the team.
He said: “It’s nice that different players are chipping in with goals and we are not having to rely on Adam too much.
“Recently we’ve had Jonny scoring, we’ve had Niall McGinn scoring and now James Maddison, who hasn’t been here that long, scoring twice in the last week.
“It shows the strength in depth we have when we have people such as James coming off the bench.
“He wasn’t involved in the game a lot because Rangers had so much possession.
“He was probably getting a little frustrated, but everyone saw what players like him can do with one piece of magic. He just stuck it in the top corner from a dead ball.”
The victory against Mark Warburton’s side was the perfect way to round off a satisfying week.
The Dons got things started with a deserved 3-1 win away to Dundee last Sunday before edging out St Johnstone in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals on Thursday thanks to Rooney’s added time winner.
“It was a great week,” said former Burton Albion man O’Connor. “We said at the start we wanted six points in the league and to book our place in the semi-final of the cup.
“We managed a great win on Thursday night against St Johnstone to put us through to the last four.
“We didn’t have much time to recover for such a big game but we were thrilled with the win.
“We knew it was going to be a huge game.
“Rangers are a great club with a lot of good players but we have a lot of good players ourselves and showed that, certainly in the second half.
“We were really happy with the win but it was just one result. There’s a long way to go.
“We did that one for the supporters. It gave them the bragging rights but now our focus is on Kilmarnock next Saturday.”
“Everyone saw what players like him can do with one piece of magic”