Saunderson's Euro-Vision: Lyndon Dykes is the darling of the Tartan Army
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
STREWTH! Fair dinkum to Lyndon Dykes who has become something of a legend to the Tartan Army in a short space of time.
Scotland’s Australian-born striker has seen his club career go from Surfers Paradise Appollo to Queen of the South, Livingston and a £2 million move to Queens Park Rangers.
That has catapulted the big man, born on the Gold Coast to Scottish parents, to a regular spot in Steve Clarke’s Euro Championship squad.
It’s a meteoric rise that even the most ardent of Doonhamers (affectionate term for a Queen of the South fan) could have predicted.
I will confess, for much of his QoS career I remained unconvinced about Dykes’ ability to make the transition to top flight football.
His role was essentially to set up the goals for the legend that was Stephen Dobbie, who has to go down as one of the best players never to win a Scotland cap.
April 28th, 2018 and a father and son road trip to Glebe Park saw Dykes score twice in a 5-1 rout of a Brechin City side relegated from the Championship at full-time.
Dykes’ and Brechin’s footballing journeys have gone in wildly contrasting directions since that day.
Dykes is the darling of the Scottish fans for his hard-working, skilful and committed performances. He’s gone from playing against a team renowned for its hedge (it is a very nice hedge at Glebe Park), to dreaming of running out at Wembley against England on June 18.
Sunday night was one of mixed fortunes for Dykes though. He bagged a hat-trick, including two penalties, in a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic, and even had the luxury of missing another spot-kick. Sadly, that performance was restricted to the X-Box, so whether it is an omen remains to be seen as I was in charge of the Czech Republic and I am absolute pants at Fifa. I was leading 1-0 at the break and then conceded a dodgy penalty when the ball hit off a defender’s nose and onto his hand (No VAR in Fifa to come to my rescue).
In the real world Dykes’ luck was out against Luxembourg in our 1-0 win, our last warm-up game, but I remain confident he will come good in the Euro Championships.
