He may have been compared to Lionel Messi last weekend, but Arbroath full-back Jason Thomson has revealed he has taken a bit of a ribbing for it.
Thomson scored the opener in the Lichties’ 3-0 Scottish Cup win over Forfar after some skilful footwork on the edge of the box.
That led to the official Arbroath Twitter account to tweet “[Thomson] turns into Messi and dribbles into the box before finding the far corner with a placed shot.”
GOAL! @JasonT_SSF turns into Messi and dribbles into the box before finding the far corner with a placed shot 1-0 pic.twitter.com/xg1a0cGoyH
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) November 27, 2021
The 34-year-old said he saw the funny side, with his phone was going off after the game.
“I’ve been called messy, but not in a football context, if you like,” he joked.
“When I came in after the game, I saw that tweet and had a few messages linking to it.
“I’m not quite sure it was Messi-esque but I’ll definitely take it. But it’s all in good fun.”
Return from injury
Thomson is now enjoying a return to the team having been out for the beginning of the season after knee surgery. He admits it was tough watching on from the sidelines.
“Personally, it has been a little bit frustrating. I had the knee operation in the summer and it took a bit longer to get back than I’d hoped,” he said.
“The boys have been flying so it has been difficult to get back into the team. No complaints from my end, you just have to bide your time and wait for your chance to come along.”
Arbroath will hope he will turn into the Ballon D’or winner once more this weekend when they host Raith Rovers in a crunch clash at Gayfield.
John McGlynn’s side are on an incredible unbeaten run, having not tasted defeat in 10 league matches.
They were also the last team to beat Dick Campbell’s side back in October, but Thomson, a former Raith captain, is confident in his side’s ability.
“The game that they beat us, we let ourselves down a bit. We didn’t play well that afternoon,” he explains.
“Every game is tough for us in the league, being part-time. But we’ll approach the game as we have been.
“I know John really well. They’ve got good ability and can move the ball well but it will also be a difficult game for them. No team wants to come up to Arbroath and play us.
“It should make for a good game.”
Gayfield away days
While teams may not want to come and play under the Gayfield conditions, an Arbroath away day is becoming increasingly popular among supporters.
Thomson hopes his side’s performance will leave the home supporters the happier of the two.
“Kirkcaldy isn’t too far away and I’m sure away fans look at Arbroath as a great day out,” he said.
“The Arbroath fans have backed us home and away already this season.
“Hopefully they’ll come out in their numbers for us this weekend and we can give them three points to add to it.”