Willie Miller names standout Aberdeen star from Hibs draw as late injury 'costs' Dons
Willie Miller believes Shayden Morris was the difference maker for Aberdeen in their thrilling draw with Hibs at Easter Road on Tuesday night.
Jimmy Thelin has received plenty of praise for his substitutions this season, and once again they worked their magic in Leith with Morris sparking panic in the Hibees defence after being thrown at 1-0 down.
Ester Sokler too brought an added boost with an outrageous overhead scissor kick, while Leighton Clarkson put in a fine display in the capital off the bench.
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Gothenburg Great Miller, who was on punditry duties last night, has been blown away by Morris' transformation at Pittodrie having rose to prominence within Thelin's team.
The Englishman scored the winner against Rangers at Pittodrie earlier this month, and has made big impacts off the bench against the likes of Dundee United and Hibs this season.
And that prompted the former Dons captain to label him his star of the show against David Gray's basement side, who closed the gap on 11th-placed Hearts while Aberdeen sit second two points behind leaders Celtic.
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Miller said on BBC Sportsound: "Shayden Morris, where has this came from? I mean, he was a player that looked like he was going nowhere for Aberdeen.
"He wasn’t anywhere near the form of this season. Whenever he gets it you just know he’s going to go past the full-back or whoever he is up against.
"And you know where he’s going to go, he’s going to go the byline. But they can do nothing about it. And the delivery into the box was quite incredible.
"His impact has been unbelievable coming off the bench this season. The pace he’s got and the directness he’s shown, he didn’t have that last season.
"He’s always had the pace but not been that direct. I think there has been some leadership from Jimmy Thelin and the advice is ‘when you get that ball and get stood up, you go to that byline’.
"And that’s all he does. It’s dead simple and it’s so effective. He throws him on just after half-time with that instruction.
"The defence have been very good, maybe not tonight, but Morris for me has made such a difference to the Aberdeen team and he’s turned games that were going to be draws or defeats into victories."
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Meanwhile Michael Stewart believes the loss of Nicky Devlin in the dying minutes of Aberdeen's 3-3 draw with Hibs hurt his old side as Jimmy Thelin's men saw a 2-1 lead in the 92nd minute fail to take all three points back to Pittodrie.
Devlin had given his side the late lead after capitalising on a Jordan Smith howler in the Hibs goal, lobbing the defence to put the Reds up with four minutes to go.
However, a superb Nicky Cadden free-kick equalised for the hosts before Ester Sokler's overhead finish was cancelled out by a Rocky Bushiri tap-in, all within an four-minute insane ending at Easter Road.
It was as bizarre as they come, but for Gothenburg Great Miller, he feels losing Devlin to injury before entering the six added minutes hurt Thelin's side as the composure in defence vanished during a back-an-forth goalfest.
He explained: "I think Nicky Devlin going off has probably, in that last moment, cost them. Because I think his experience would have just plugged the gap, recognised the danger."