With one swipe of his right foot Christian Ramirez dispatched goal number eight of the season to help Aberdeen secure their first win in 11 matches on Saturday.
Within minutes of the final whistle being blown on a morale-boosting three points for the Dons and manager Stephen Glass, American Ramirez faced the media to discuss his goal and his own bid to silence his doubters.
It seems Ramirez has come in for criticism on social media following his move to Scottish football, but, if the former Houston Dynamo frontman is taking flak, then a few other strikers in Scotland should be looking nervously over their shoulders.
Let’s keep it simple and on an even playing field by looking at the Premiership statistics only.
Premiership’s top scorer from open play
After 10 matches, Ramirez has five goals for the Dons, a return which puts him just behind joint league leading goalscoring duo Liam Boyce of Hearts and Martin Boyle of Hibernian.
A goal every two games ratio represents a decent return for Aberdeen striker, but what is most impressive is the fact all five have come from open play. That statistic puts him out in front in the top flight.
Four of Hibs striker Boyle’s six league goals have come from the penalty spot, while at Tynecastle former Ross County attacker Boyce has three goals from the spot so far. Furthermore, he has missed two spot-kicks so far too.
This is not an investigation into how the Edinburgh clubs have been awarded so many penalties so far this season, but it is clear Ramirez’s contribution in and around the penalty area stands up to scrutiny against any of his peers in Scottish football.
The former United States international’s shot conversion rate is decent too.
He is second in the Premiership with 27.8%, less than a percentage point behind Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi. Who has netted four league goals in his 489 minutes on the pitch to date.
Boyce, Motherwell’s Tony Watt and former Don Bruce Anderson, now at Livingston, are the other strikers who make up the top five.
Ramirez return stands up to scrutiny
So, are the critics being unfairly harsh on Ramirez? In terms of his finishing in front of goal, it certainly looks like it.
Like another former Don, Adam Rooney, it seems the best way to maximise Ramirez’s contribution on the pitch is to simply provide him with the service he needs and let him do what he does best. Scoring goals. His job.
Let those who doubt him continue to snipe away in the background. The man himself says it is motivating him to score even more.
What was particularly clear from Saturday’s goal and the threat in general posed by the Dons attack was how important Marley Watkins and Ryan Hedges can be to Ramirez having the service he craves.
Both have been absent in recent week.
Hedges’ direct play and guile is always a threat, while the decision by the Dons coaching staff to play Watkins alongside Ramirez as a strike partner gave the Californian the space he needed to convert Calvin Ramsay’s cutback for the only goal of the game.
It’s not just what you do when you have the ball, but the movement you make before receiving it which counts.
Ramirez is in no doubt both men will have a big part to play in the weeks and months ahead.
Ramirez said: “The goal came from playing with a second striker and being able to see the line drop as players went with Marley. It gave me the space.
“For me it is about winning and if I didn’t score and we won I’d be happy.
“It was a constant theme we discussed, making sure we were compact, and when you have Hedges in that free role it can become scary at times for backlines when he is running at them, and then you have Marley with his pace.
“It is just a matter of continuing to get games and minutes under our belts together. It can only get better.”
With three goals in his last four games, opposition defences should beware the growing threat of a revitalised Ramirez.