NERVE-RACKED Charlie Christie couldn’t bear to watch his son Ryan take Scotland’s decisive penalty kick on Saturday night.
He left his wife Sharon in the Hampden VIP seats to head inside and hope for the best.
But the Caley Thistle legend was then talked into “keeping the faith” by a stadium STEWARD and went back outside to view his boy’s big match-winning moment.
Christie senior ended up feeling delighted at accepting the advice — as Ryan calmly sent Republic of Ireland keeper Gavin Bazunu the wrong way in the 82nd minute to secure a superb 2-1 victory.
And his proud dad confessed to SunSport the reason for leaving his seat at the spot-kick drama.
Christie, 56, said: “It was simply nerves that got the better of me.
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“I got a shock when Ryan picked up the ball to take the penalty. I didn’t realise he was on them.
“His mum’s always better than me at dealing with these kinds of situations. She’s level-headed.
“She stayed in her seat as I left to head inside.
“Ryan missed an important penalty for Celtic against Rangers a few years back and the team lost.
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“Some of the reaction to him that day was brutal.
“It was tough for me and his mum to see him go through that.
“But I knew then he still wouldn’t flinch from taking another vital penalty.
“Time’s moved on — and then, suddenly, there he is taking one for Scotland against Ireland.
“It was too much for me and I made my way up the tunnel to be away from it.
“I’d been convinced it was going to be John McGinn taking the ball.
“But there was Ryan stepping up, and at that stage in the match there was every chance it would be to win the game.
“It was some pressure for him.
“Funnily enough, a draw would still have been a good result for Scotland.
“But of course, when there’s a chance to win the game you want to grab it.
“Ryan stepped up to take responsibility. A steward recognised me and said, ‘C’mon Charlie, you’ve got to watch your boy’s penalty. You’ve got to show more faith!’.
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“We both laughed and then stood together watching Ryan tuck the ball away and we celebrated the goal.
“I need to give the Scotland set-piece coach Austin MacPhee big credit.
“I did my coaching badges with him and really like him.
“Austin and Ryan had a discussion in training about the prospect of a penalty in the game.
“He provided great info on the Irish keeper and how he generally deals with penalties.
“Ryan knew the lad liked to dive one way or the other, and so the intention was to put it straight down the middle.
“Watching his penalty again on the telly, it’s not the cleanest of hits.
“But Ryan waited until the keeper had dived and knew where he was putting the ball.”
Christie senior was delighted at the way Scotland battled back to win 2-1.
He added: “I thought the team did very well in the second half, responding to Ireland taking the lead.
“Ryan and Stuart Armstrong are best mates and I thought the both of them did a power of work.
“I was a bit worried Ryan would have tired legs for the penalty — but it wasn’t a problem in the end.
“Overall, it was a really great team performance and a big result.
“Fingers crossed Scotland can now complete the job on Tuesday night.”
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