LEIGHTON CLARKSON was a relatively unknown figure when he became Aberdeen’s eleventh signing of the summer.
But after scoring a stunning 30-yard strike for the Dons against St Mirren on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season, supporters certainly learnt a lot about their new man on-loan from Liverpool.
The 20-year-old continued his wondergoal spree in Perth on Saturday as he grabbed the winner for Jim Goodwin’s side against St Johnstone via the way of a 25-yard free kick.
There were doubts over the award of the foul as Jonny Hayes went over a challenge from Graham Carey, but Clarkson made sure to send the ball postage stamp into the top left corner.
It was a stunning finish and Goodwin was mightily impressed with the overall performance of his player.
He 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 Jonny Hayes was going to take it – I’ve not seen Jonny 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. When you sign that quality of player, you hope you have a match winner.”
Aberdeen had the ball in the back of the net after ten minutes when Bojan Miovski glanced home a pinpoint Jonny Hayes cross.
It was an impressive finish from the Moldovan striker, but his celebrations were cut short when referee Craig Napier ruled the goal out for offside.
Replays showed the line was extremely tight, and the decision could well have been different if VAR was in play at McDiarmid Park.
Saints then mustered a couple of chances of their own and new signing Daniel Phillips went close first. The former Watford midfielder forced Kelle Roos into a save after finding space on the edge of the box just before the half-hour mark.
Striker Theo Bair, who is still searching for his first league goal of the season, then had a swing and a miss after Jamie Murphy cut back to the six-yard box from the byline.
Carey also went close with a curled free-kick effort just before half-time, but goalkeeper Roos produced a smart save to keep the score level heading into the interval.
Just 10 minutes into the second period Aberdeen found the opener and they could have added to their advantage shortly after with Miovski and Ross McCrorie both going close.
Callum Davidson made a triple change on the hour mark with Murray Davidson, Max Kucheriavyi and Stevie May all coming on off the bench with the aim of impacting the game.
But in all honesty, the trio failed to make an impact and the lack of a goal threat frustrated manager Davidson.
He explained: “I need to ask more of my players in the final third. They need to be more positive. I thought our set-plays were pretty poor as well.
“I actually feel for my lads as they put a real shift in. We just needed to be more clinical in what is a tough league. We need to make sure we are winning that game 1-0.
“I’m not sure if there was any contact at their free-kick but Graham is adamant he didn't touch him.
“Once they score then they are able to sit in. It became difficult for us to break them down while they had loads of pace to catch us on the counter.
“We probably didn't do enough at 1-0 down and were not quite good enough to get an equaliser.”
One shot on target was registered for Saints in the second period and that came after Jamie Murphy weaved his way towards goal on 83 minutes. Roos saved the shot well and Aberdeen sprung a counter.
The visitors could have made the score line look more convincing with chances late on for Luis Lopes and Shayden Morris, but ultimately it would be Clarkson’s wonder strike that split the teams.
ENDS
