As the boisterous band of Dundee United fans celebrated David Goodwillie’s 96th-minute equaliser at Pittodrie on Saturday, it must have dawned on many that he had just proved why he may be the next player to leave the club for a bigger stage.
His fabulous finish to earn a dramatic 1-1 draw against Aberdeen was another magical moment to add to the young Scotland star’s collection.
With 11 counters already this season, he is the most bankable attacking asset to strut his stuff at Tannadice since that other Stirling-born striker, Duncan Ferguson, two decades ago.
Goodwillie’s talent has been noticed elsewhere and suitors will be expected to form a not-so-orderly queue at the stadium door now the transfer window has opened.
With United’s display as flat as a bottle of beer that had been opened on Hogmanay and left until the Ne’erday hangover had hit, Goodwillie pounced in the sixth minute of stoppage time to earn his team a rather undeserved point.
He wasn’t even having a good game himself, with the lone striker’s role not suiting him as well as it had done against Hibs at Easter Road the previous midweek when he grabbed a double.
However, just as on umpteen occasions previously he made the breakthrough when United appeared to be toiling, pouncing on an excellent Jon Daly knockdown to ruin the Dons’ party.
United had earlier entered into the seasonal spirit, bringing with them to the Granite City a first-footing gift of a goal on 35 minutes, with right-back Keith Watson passing the ball back into the path of home frontman Chris Maguire, who danced past keeper Dusan Pernis before slotting into the empty net.
It looked likely to be Aberdeen’s afternoon until “Goodie” intervened. His teammates would obviously be loathe to lose him any time soon but they realise he is doing his best to catch the eye of others.
“Goodie is an excellent player and he got us out of a hole again,” said United defender Sean Dillon. “There are only a handful of clubs that a player can’t get bigger than — the likes of Man United or Real Madrid.
“If you do well here then opportunities open up for you. That’s what happens. If a player does really well then…
“The club signs players to produce great performances every week and if they do that then the chances of staying here are slim.
“As far as I am concerned, though, Goodie is here and is not going anywhere and while that is the case I am looking forward to him scoring a few more goals.”
Dillon, of course, knows what it feels like to notch dramatic levellers in the dying stages, having secured a draw for United at Celtic Park in similar fashion.
“It is nice to get a last-minute equaliser and, while I don’t think we deserved to win the game, I think we deserved a draw,” added the Irishman. “Aberdeen didn’t have a whole lot of chances and the one they did take advantage of was just a bad mistake by Keith. In fairness to him, he bounced back straight away.
“It is a much better feeling than it was the other night, when we lost a late goal to Hibs. That game felt like a defeat even though we played well. Indeed, I feel we played far better then than we did this time but that’s the way it goes.
“All over the pitch we were second to most of the balls and we got out of jail a little bit.”
Home goalscorer Maguire admitted, “It felt like a defeat. We were lucky to get a late goal at Hamilton in midweek but we were on the receiving end this time. It was a bit of a kick in the teeth.
“The game goes on for 90 minutes — or 96 in this case — and you have to hang on to the end and we didn’t manage to do that.”
Maguire knows Goodwillie well from their time together with the Scotland under-21s and he wasn’t surprised to see it was his pal who burst the Craig Brown bubble by robbing the new manager of a third success in a row.
“I personally didn’t think it was one of his better games, but that is what happens with strikers when they are on form — one chance and they take it,” said Maguire.
United boss Peter Houston summed up the game accurately, not shirking from highlighting his team’s faults.
“I give credit to our lads for going for 96 minutes but I think we were poor,” he said. “We didn’t play anywhere near the standards we have set ourselves.
“Today it looked as if we were five or six weeks short of a game, whereas on Wednesday night when I expected a bit of rustiness we played well and should have won at Easter Road.
“Defensively, we didn’t win a lot of headers; we let Aberdeen drop off into wee holes and run at us; (Aberdeen frontmen) Chris Maguire and Scott Vernon did well against us; and Garry Kenneth hasn’t played for seven weeks and I think it showed today and by his standards it was a poor match.
“In the middle of the park, we didn’t pass the ball. Up front, Goodie wasn’t holding the ball up well enough until Jon Daly went on. Jon upset the Aberdeen defence and won headers whereas in the first half Goodie was a lone figure up there at times.
“We also gifted them a goal and Maguire finished it well. Aberdeen played better than us, but I am still delighted with our resilience and it was a quality finish from Goodie.
“So I am delighted to get a draw out of it after such a poor performance.”
Dons boss Brown felt the delight on the United faces at saving a point summed up the match.
“I thought the quality the lads showed against one of the best teams in the country was good,” he said. “Dundee United were third last season and cup winners and they came here and were hanging by a thread.
“They were overjoyed to get a draw and the way they celebrated tells you they were really relieved.”
The reason the game did last an extra six minutes was the broken ankle suffered by Dons player Yoann Folly, who fell to the ground after a strong but legal challenge by United full-back Paul Dixon.
Folly will miss the rest of the season and Dixon went into the home dressing room to see him after the full-time whistle, and also visited him in hospital on Saturday night.
There were, perhaps understandably, different takes on the incident.
United’s Dillon said, “Paul is that kind of fella and nobody means to do anybody any harm. It was an aggressive tackle but sometimes that happens.
“It was a clean one. It was fair and he got the ball cleanly, with no free-kick awarded. It was not a nice thing to happen to anyone and it is unfortunate for the lad.”
Maguire added, “I don’t think it was a great tackle to be honest. Fair enough, he may have got a touch on the ball but I think it was a lunge more than anything.
“I would need to see it again but I remember him lunging and a few of the boys were saying that his studs were up.”