Boss hails star’s quality as the difference
Jim Goodwin hailed Leighton Clarkson after the Liverpool starlet’s moment of brilliance was the difference in Aberdeen’s narrow win at St Johnstone.
The on-loan attacking midfielder swept an exquisite free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards in the second half.
Goodwin said: “He’s a quality player. Technically, we know exactly what we’re going to get. Physically, he needs to bulk up a little bit if he’s going to go back to Liverpool and play in the Premier League.
“He’s very brave on the ball, he takes it in tight areas and looks to play forward. “That free-kick was a real bit of quality. “I was petrified Johnny Hayes was going to take it – I’ve not seen Johnny hit the target from a free-kick in God knows how long.
“I was shouting to let Leighton hit it and thankfully he stepped aside.
“You need that bit of individual brilliance sometimes.
“People will see a 1-0 win and think it was a close game but we were in control and are disappointed not to score more goals.”
The win in Perth was Aberdeen’s first away victory in the Premiership since last December, which also came in a 1-0 success at McDiarmid Park.
Goodwin said: “I wasn’t aware of that stat. That’s quite incredible for a club of this size to have that kind of record on the road. That’s extremely disappointing and thankfully we were able to put a stop to it today,
“We’ve got to be consistent in our all-round game. We can’t afford to go and drop points next weekend against Livingston then be back to chasing the pack again.
“I think we were well worth the victory. I don’t want to be disrespectful to St Johnstone because you know what you’re going to get.
“Callum Davidson is a good, young manager and sets his team up to be very hard to beat. I’ve never had great success coming here as a player and manager with St Mirren. It’s always been a difficult venue.
“But I thought the boys were excellent. The reaction after last weekend was really important. Football is easy when you’re winning games and confidence is high.”