Too Cheeky By Half

Last updated : 16 October 2010 By Ed_ScottishFitba
11 October 2010 093aAberdeen manager Mark McGhee paid Chris Maguire the biggest compliment by claiming his wonder goal for the Scotland Under-21 side on Monday night could not have been replicated by anyone in the Dons' greatest team. After the young Scots had lost a goal to their Icelandic counterparts in the second leg of their European Championship play-off at Easter Road, Maguire levelled straight from the restart with a strike that has been talked about all week, although it was not enough to prevent Billy Stark's side ultimately going out 4-2 on aggregate. McGhee played for Aberdeen during their 1980s heyday when, under Sir Alex Ferguson, they won three SPL titles, three Scottish Cups and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983, among other honours.

The Aberdeen boss thinks that none of that famous side, which included Scotland legends like Alex McLeish, Willie Miller and Gordon Strachan, would have dared try to produce anything like Maguire's effort which has become a YouTube favourite. McGhee said: "I watched it live and it was so unexpected and so cheeky. To have the audacity to try that is outstanding. One of the things I said to Chris and the others is that people go on about the team I played in, the history and that sort of thing. But none of us would have have done that - none of us could have done that. So I hope they see that, feel that and realise that they are as good as we have had. I hope they all take great heart from what Chris did the other night. He has been playing well and scored a good goal against Rangers but now he has to be consistent and show the form he has shown with the Under-21s for our first team."

Dons midfielder Derek Young, looking forward to the visit of Hearts, revealed his wife had called him downstairs to see Maguire's remarkable goal. He said: "I was upstairs at the time and my missus shouted to me and said 'come down and see this goal', and Chris was still celebrating. It is easily one of the best goals I've seen. Unfortunately Scotland never qualified but all the boys were happy for him and hopefully his confidence will grow and he will kick on."
Editor
Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)

Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)

This is ScottishFitba Net