Ryan Christie’s Da’ nearly popped open a vintage bottle of Champagne last night but thought better of it. It’s a bottle that would have a particularly bitter taste for anyone Celtic minded. Charlie’s precious bottle was won during his Man of the Match award against Celtic in the Scottish Cup on the night his Super Caley went Ballistic.
His boy had just scored a sensational goal for Scotland that looked like taking Scotland through to the Euros where England, Croatia and Czech Republic await. However a stoppage time equaliser from substitute Luka Jovic took the Play-off to extra time and then onto a penalty shoot-out, and thankfully former Celtic keeper David Marshall made the only save of shoot-out with the tenth penalty.
I put David Marshall's save to Titanic music and quite frankly I will never get tired of watching it😍🏴 pic.twitter.com/XiuS7UUs4B
— Lewis🏴🇸🇪⚜ (@LewisA67) November 13, 2020
Both Leigh Griffiths and Callum McGregor had sent Scotland on their way by converting the first two pens. So when Marshall dived to his left to make the save that took Scotland through to the Finals the vintage Champagne almost pooped up in Inverness. That’s not to say that the fizzy stuff wasn’t consumed in the Christie household last night, a few bottles were opened and consumed with Ryan’s parents and his sister sharing two bottles, but they belonged to the Celtic and Scotland star for his own man of the match exploits FOR the Hoops.
Talking about his man of the Match champagne from that horrible Scottish Cup exit for Celtic from 20 years ago, Charlie told the story of what happened in the Christie household last night. “Believe it or not, my daughter Paige had the man of the match bottle in her hand after the game and got told to put it down!” Christie told Inverness Courier. “We had two bottles between me, Paige and my wife Sharon, and one of them was actually Ryan’s man of the match bubbly from Parkhead.
⚽️ Ryan Christie gives us the advantage in our UEFA #EURO2020 play-off final. #SRBSCOpic.twitter.com/xUbARZCSxS
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 12, 2020
“We were half-thinking we would open mine, but I managed to stop that. What will it take to open that one? If Ryan scores the winner against England next summer, it will happen.
“Ryan phoned me afterwards, but only after a long wait for a drug test. UEFA select boys at random for a drug test and he and John McGinn got taken off for that,” he said. “But at about 2am Ryan sent me a video of the celebrations from the hotel. The whole squad, Stevie Clarke and the backroom staff were up.
“It is just one of those moments in football that will live with him forever. Ryan’s interview, for me, summed it up. It was straight from the heart.
“There has been criticism of whether the players care enough. Obviously, I know Ryan better than almost anyone on the planet. Since the moment he first pulled on a short at under 19 level and made the under 21s, it has meant the world to him.
“I hear the buzz in his voice when he speaks about Scotland trips. When he scored his first-ever goal against Cyprus, he was just over the moon. The interview showed us all, not just what it means to him but to squad.
“I don’t speak much to him before games like that, but I gave him a quick call the night before and I could tell, then, just how much he was up for it.
“While he was isolating last time around because of Covid, he had a treadmill delivered to his flat in Glasgow by Celtic to stay fit. He put a poster above it and on it he wrote ‘Euros 2020/21’ – and when he was doing his hours of running, it was that keeping him going.
"I hope everyone back home is having a party tonight!" 🥳
Just look how much it means to Ryan Christie! 🥺pic.twitter.com/pr13ClPSwl
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 12, 2020
“Football means everything to him as does his country. I was there in France in 1998 and he has grown up in a house where football was his life. We used to sit together with family and watch every Scotland game together. He has been brought up that way.
“For him to now play a part in a major stepping stone for Scotland, back to where we belong, is just fantastic. As a team, Scotland really have stepped on a mark and the respect that Steve Clarke and the boys deserve and should get can’t be overstated.
“I’ve had so many texts and messages and Ryan is the same. Even Liam Gallagher tweeted about Ryan last night! It is far-reaching. And I think what Ryan said was right.
“It has been a nightmare year not just in Scotland, but all around the world. We were looking for Scotland to put a smile on our faces. I’ve been there with them at the Champs Elysees and the Tartan Army are the best fans in the world.
“They’ve not had much to cheer about for 20 years.Touch wood we’ll get over this Covid nightmare and the two games at Hampden next year will be played before 50,000. Then we’ll go down and whip England at Hampden.
🎶 David Marshall 🎶#NoScotlandNoParty pic.twitter.com/8amIKiTWrF
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 13, 2020
Christie Snr also gave his opinion on how well Scotland played against Serbia.“What probably surprised us all was just how well Scotland played and how much of the ball they had,” Charlie said. “We started the game brilliantly and the Serbs sat off them. I thought the front three of Lyndon Dykes, John McGinn and Ryan were full of energy and caused them problems.
“We get the goal after the chance for Andy Robertson, and Ryan was then not far off getting a second one. They were always going to have a period in the game and the last-minute equaliser was a huge body-blow.
“We were on the back foot in extra-time but Serbia didn’t create too much. We couldn’t have asked for any better and I don’t think you can over-state just what this means for football in this country.
“Before the game, I thought if we were going to win it, it would be through a bit of luck, or David Marshall being superby and us nicking a goal. But the game wasn’t like that at all. We out-performed them
“Football is so fickle and had luck deserted us in the shoot-out, the whole mood the morning after would have been the polar opposite. But for once we can honestly say our performance deserved the win and, to a man, the players were brilliant.”
So just to summarise, in order to open Charlie’s bottle, his boy has not only to score against England at Wembley, but Scotland must win and his goal mist be the winner!
