Wighton comes of age for Dundee
THE night Leicester City won the English Premier League title, Dundee attacker Craig Wighton was creating a bit of history of his own.
But the fairytale feat of Claudio Ranieri’s men meant the teenager’s derby winner that demoted Dundee United at Dens Park on May 2 did not perhaps get the full credit it deserved.
If Saturday’s sizzling performance against Motherwell is anything to go by, however, the 19-year-old will not be able to escape the full beam of the spotlight for much longer.
This was a match that boasted drama in the form of a controversial ‘goal’ for Motherwell by Scott McDonald that was not given by referee John Beaton and his team.
What was not in doubt, though, was that the game was lit up by what some Dundee fans were hailing as a ‘coming of age’ performance by Wighton.
His pace and directness down the flanks set up the opening goal for fellow local boy, Cammy Kerr, to score his first ever goal for Dundee.
But the teenager’s run before putting the ball on a plate for Marcus Haber to seal all three points was particularly sublime.
The only blot on Wighton’s copy book was that he failed to grab a goal for himself after another typically dizzying run.
It was little wonder he was given a standing ovation when he was announced as man of the match. And afterwards, Dundee manager Paul Hartley proudly declared that after years of excited expectation over the youngster’s progress, Wighton’s time is now.
‘I know Craig Wighton well and his talent is ridiculous,’ added opening goalscorer Kerr.
‘We see it all the time from him in training and he has done it before in games, too.
‘People have said he maybe needs to do it more, but that’s two great games he’s had now for us and his confidence is getting higher and higher. He was brilliant for us today. He was definitely our best player.
‘As local boys, the fans are brilliant with Craig and I, and I’d like to thank them for that. But the reason the fans were so good today is because the team was so good. ‘We knew ourselves that questions were being asked of us because we had not been winning. But I think we have turned the corner now.’ After a slow start the game burst into life in controversial fashion when McDonald sent over a mis-hit cross. It was caught by Dundee goalkeeper David Mitchell, who fell backwards into his goal. The press box at Dens Park offers one of the worst views in the game, but even so it was clear the ball was over the line. ‘I’ve not seen it so I can’t really comment,’ smiled Kerr. ‘Our goalkeeper was saying he had his eyes on the ball and he fell into the post, so he didn’t really know what happened either. But the important thing is we got the win.’
Hartley’s men took full advantage of their undoubted good fortune. Kerr started the move that would lead to the opening goal, sending Wighton scampering down the right wing.
The teenager drove into the box and saw his shot saved by Craig Samson but Kerr was there to crack the ball high into the net.
‘I got the ball off Scott McDonald and I could hear Wighton going down the outside, just as Stephen McManus came towards me,’ recalled Kerr.
‘I kept going and after Samson made a good save I took it on my chest and finished it with my instep.
‘It was great to score but it all happened so fast and I got a bit caught up in the celebrations.
‘But it was my first goal for Dundee and it meant a lot to me.
‘I feel that goals are something I can add to my game.’
The killer second arrived after a stunning piece of skill saw Wighton burst clear of Richard Tait, before pulling the ball back for Haber to seal the three points.
‘We showed how good we are as a team,’ said Kerr.
‘We knew with the win last week at Hamilton we had to build on it by winning again and we’ve done that.
‘This was a massive win for us and it sets us up nicely for the international break.
‘I think the break has come at the right time. We’ve had a hard week and the rest will do the boys good.
‘We have a hard game against Rangers after but we will go to Ibrox full of confidence.’