THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY GRAIL –
Cup dream can rewrite Christie family history
CHRISTIE! You’re no’ half as good a player as your auld man!’ In typical Yogi fa s hi on, John Hughes bellows his zinger at young Ryan Christie f rom a good 30 yards away, smiling as he looks for a reaction from one of the best midfield prospects in Scotland.
The 20-year- old smiles back at a comment he will have heard plenty of ti mes before; growing up i n the Highlands as the footballing son of Charlie Christie must have involved at least some burden of expectation.
Well, now Christie Junior has his very own ‘Super-Caley-Go-Ballistic’ moment to share with his father, who was a stand-out performer in that 3-1 win at Celtic Park back in 2000.
‘My dad is always going on about what happened that night at Parkhead, the famous 3-1 win for Caley Thistle, and now I have something to come back at him with,’ said the product of the Inverness academy system.
‘I was four years old back then, I was at the game, but I don’t remember much about it. I actually remember travelling down on the Saturday when the original game was called off.
‘Even though I can’t remember much about being there, I have been forced to watch it — we’ve got about five tapes of the game in the house — my dad would watch it every night if he could! At least now I’ve got a comeback.
‘I had a quick word with my dad right after the game against Celtic finished on Sunday. He was delighted. Not just for me, but for everyone at the club.
‘I’ve been part of Highland football all of my life, so I know how much it means not just to everyone at the club, but to all those fans who travelled to Hampden.’
Famously, Christie Senior has never opened t he Man of t he Match champagne he received for his part in one of Scottish football’s great shock performances, insisting the cork will be popped only when his lad earns full a Scotland cap.
As confident as he may be in his son’s international prospects, might he make an exception and pour some of the bubbly into one very special trophy if Ryan gets his hands on it next month?
‘I don’t know if he would let me have a drink, even if we win the Scottish Cup,’ says Christie. ‘My dad didn’t get the chance to go all the way, so getting to the Cup Final is superb.’
Caley Thistle were a First Division side back when a Celtic team being badly mismanaged by John Barnes were humbled at home. They’ve come a long way in the 15 years since, establishing themselves as a genuine top-flight force.
If their tiny fan base remains an indictment on those employed to sell the Highland public on something so popular as a winning team playing exciting football — hardly up there with f l ogging i ce- makers to the British Antarctic Survey — the football team consistently performs wonders.
Currently occupying one of the Europa League spots in the Premiership, they could also clinch a spot in UEFA’s second-tier competition by beating Falkirk in the Cup Final. The stuff of dreams, is it not?
‘It really is superb to have two cracks at Europe,’ said Christie. ‘It would be the first time in the club’s history. We’ve pushed hard in the league and we need to make sure we don’t slip up now.
‘We’ve got a shot at doing something really special for the club and, looking at the fans on Sunday, you could feel what it meant for them to be part of history.
‘That was one of the biggest games I’ve ever played in — but it’s an even bigger thrill to do it for the fans. Even though they were hugely outnumbered, we could hear them all day — and it was great to repay them for travelling all the way down to Glasgow and supporting us.
‘They seemed ecstatic at full-time, so hopefully they’ll be back down in even bigger numbers for the Final.
‘Was I nervous? Yeah, I was. It’s a big stage and it’s harder to keep yourself calm and composed on the ball, which I actually think everyone in our team did on Sunday. We were superb and played with a really positive style.
‘We’ve shown these boys can make history. To go to Glasgow and win shows that, from first game to last, we can make this an incredible season.
‘The Final now has a different spin on it because we go into it as favourites against Falkirk. We need to make sure we turn up and are right on our game.’
If he keeps on learning, there’s no telling where the game might take Christie. Having already emerged from a pretty sizeable shadow, the future certainly looks bright.
“It’s a really good
comeback to dad’s
3-1 win at Celtic”