I TOLD MANAGER I WOULD SCORE FOR HIM:
BuoYED by the confidence of youth, Bruce Anderson had a very simple message for Derek McInnes before this most dramatic of Aberdeen debuts.
‘I said before going on that I was going to score for him,’ grinned the 19-year-old after his late equaliser .
‘Thankfully, I did! After the game, he was delighted for me. I feel like I have been ready for a while, so I am just happy I took my chance.
‘I’m always confident I can score when I get on the field. I’m glad the manager trusted me enough. Hopefully, I repaid the favour.’
Anderson did more than that. With the Pittodrie side woefully short of attacking menace against a Rangers team reduced to ten men after just 12 minutes, McInnes was in dire need of a saviour.
He turned to the Pittodrie youth product with 71 minutes on the clock. Replacing Sam Cosgrove, Anderson swept home a left-foot finish in the third minute of injury-time to rescue a point and deny Steven Gerrard victory on his Premiership debut.
That it was Aberdeen’s first shot on target says it all about their performance up until then.
‘It is the stuff of dreams but it hasn’t really sunk in yet,’ added Anderson. ‘I am going home to watch the game so it might do that when I’m looking back on it. I’m just over the moon.
‘My family are all Aberdeen fans, so I’m sure they will be proud. My mum and dad were at the game and I’m sure any of the family who didn’t make it were watching on telly.
‘I have been in the development team here for three years now so I feel it’s been a long time coming. I am an Aberdeen fan myself, so I am delighted that I managed to start my career like that.
‘I can’t actually remember much about the goal. I just remember the ball dropping and trying to get it on target. Thankfully, it went in. It was an unbelievable feeling to hear the fans cheering.’
Anderson hopes he won’t have to wait too long for that sensation to be repeated. While McInnes is very much in the market for a new striker, the teenager wants to plug the gap left by Adam Rooney’s exit to Salford City.
‘It is just about being ready,’ insisted Anderson. ‘And I will be ready whenever the manager wants to use me. It is just about gaining his trust now.
‘Does he not have to go out and find a new striker then? No, hopefully not!
‘Adam had actually been mentoring me since I came in. He kind of took me under his wing, so when he left I felt I could step up to the plate, if you like. Hopefully that can happen.
‘Every day in training, Adam would pass on little things and I would try and copy things from his game. I take them and try and put them into mine.
‘We had a good relationship and sort of bounced off each other when we were working together. I was gutted to see him go but, then again, it is a good chance for me to try and step up to the mark.
‘Adam has already phoned some of the boys and he’s saying to them he feels like a proud father. I’ll give him a phone later on tonight to let him know how things went.’
Anderson gained a taste of firstteam football on loan at League Two Elgin City last season, scoring six goals in 13 starts. It is, however, with Aberdeen that he hopes to continue making his mark.
‘I enjoyed my time at Elgin. This is a big step up but it’s something I relish,’ he added. ‘As I said, I feel like I have been ready for a while, it’s just about getting minutes now. Whether I play against Dundee in the next game will be up to the manager. I’ll be ready if he needs me, but that will be his decision.
‘I always back myself to score goals, that’s my mentality. I just want to keep learning, get better and better then take the chances when they come along.
‘Scott McKenna did it and he is someone everyone here looks up to. We lived together for a while when I first came to Aberdeen, so I have picked up the things he does off the pitch. He is a great professional.’