Aberdeen midfielder James Maddison dreamt of winner against Rangers before scoring late free kick
On-loan Norwich man said he imagined scoring the winning goal at Pittodrie before stunning 90th minute strike
HE spent a week dreaming of scoring a late winner against Rangers.
And James Maddison insists he knew it would become a reality before he even struck his stunner of a free-kick.
On-loan Norwich kid Maddison sickened Gers fans, and sent Aberdeen’s Red Army into raptures with his sensational 90th-minute strike.
Maddison, 19, who has been superb for Derek McInnes since joining on deadline day, admits his mind had been wandering on to how he’d be the hero from this powderkeg clash.
Maddison said: “It was an unbelievable feeling because that’s what you dream of in the build-up to the game.
“There was a lot of hype around the match and you go through scenarios in your head — well I do anyway.
“One of those scenarios was scoring the winning goal late on.
“That’s what happened — it was EXACTLY as I planned!
“I knew I was able to stick it away and thankfully I did.
“I came on to change the game because the first half wasn’t good enough.
“It was a tough game to come into because the atmosphere was electric and it was really quick.
“I knew that at 1-1 we might get a chance to win it, and we did that with the free-kick.
“I was always going to take it. Niall McGinn and I have been having banter about free-kicks because we practise them together.
“But he was off at the time so I didn’t have him chirping in my ear wanting to take it!
“I would have been taking it anyway, definitely.
“Was I nervous stepping up? No, I don’t get nervous because I have confidence in my ability.
“I’ve never scored a better one than that.
“It’s something I work hard at after training. I hit quite a lot of free-kicks every day.
“I’m confident because I’ve practised a lot, not just here but at Coventry and Norwich.
“Hopefully it’s something I will master, and I will keep working on them.
“If Niall was still on the pitch, I was taking it, 100 per cent.
“I’m just buzzing with it, this was a massive game.
“It’s just three points, but it feels like much more than that because of all the build-up and the hype.”
Dons have finished second behind Celtic the last two years, and were picked out by Hoops skipper Scott Brown as their most likely challengers again this season.
Maddison knew the focus was on Aberdeen, and how they would handle the heat against Mark Warburton’s side.
And the youngster reckons their victory sent out a warning to the rest of the league.
Maddison added: “I think we sent a message out to Scottish football today — that we’re not here just to plod along, we’re here to challenge.
“We don’t want to look too far ahead. But with the squad we’ve got, we’re capable of beating anyone on our day.
“So we head to Kilmarnock next Saturday looking for three points.
“That atmosphere was electric. Coming on as a sub, it’s always different — you never know what the game is going to be like.
“It looked quick from the bench, right enough. The first half was really quick, a bit shaky, not nervous, but there wasn’t much quality on show from us. That is maybe down to the way Rangers played, as well. And the hype surrounding the game.
“It was a tough match to come into, I didn’t have my best personal performance.
“But that was all forgotten about when I put the ball in the top corner for the winner. One of the big attractions of coming to football was to play against the likes of Rangers and Celtic.
“Every footballer wants to play in huge games, in front of full houses, live on the TV.
“That was one of the attractions. And today showed me what it was like — Scottish football at its best. I didn’t know too much about the game up here when I arrived, but the fans have told me a lot about the Rangers game.
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“I think I’ll be in a for a good time if I keep sticking in winners against Rangers!”
Maddison was dropped for this one by boss McInnes, despite being the star man in the Betfred Cup win over St Johnstone last Thursday.
He admits he was frustrated to miss out from the start, but reckons events proved his boss knew best.
Maddison said: “I was gutted to be left out because I feel like I’ve been playing well, and making a good contribution to the team.
“But sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.
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“When I look back the gaffer made the right decision to utilise the squad, because we have a lot of quality here.
“It has been a great week for us, we have won three games and scored two late goals to win matches.
“Jayden Stockley came off the bench against Dundee, Adam Rooney against St Johnstone and I did it today.
“That shows the quality and depth we have in the squad. The competition is healthy and it’s paying off.
“We will look back on this last week as a massive one for Aberdeen.
“The gaffer told us how big this week would be, we wanted six points and to be in the semi-final. We’ve done that and we move on to the next one now at Kilmarnock.”