Glasgow Rangers moved to within goal difference of the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox on Tuesday night.
The Light Blues secured all three points thanks to goals from Rabbi Matondo and Todd Cantwell, either side of an equaliser from Bojan Miovski, as Philippe Clement's side moved to 58 points – level with Celtic ahead of their game on Wednesday.
Whilst the two goalscorers will get the plaudits, and rightly so, for their strikes to win the match for the Scottish giants, they were not the only impressive performers for the Light Blues.
Central defender John Souttar was brought into the starting line-up for the injured Leon Balogun and showed what he is all about with an excellent display for the Gers, as he was the real hero on the night.
Matondo and Cantwell's match-winning contributions
Ross McCausland took advantage of a slip from a defender and drove towards the box before lashing an effort at Kelle Roos, who was forced to parry the ball straight to Matondo for the opening goal.
However, the Welsh whiz then missed a huge opportunity to make it 2-0 before half-time. He skipped past two defenders with a brilliant piece of skill but took far too long to get his shot away, with Cyriel Dessers in space to his right, and slipped at the vital moment.
Cantwell was the eventual match-winner as the former Norwich City star was the quickest to react to a save from Roos to bundle the ball into the back of the net on the rebound.
The English whiz also created two chances for his teammates but did lose 100% (3/3) of his duels throughout the game, as Aberdeen found it too easy to get the better of him in physical contests.
John Souttar's defensive dominance
Souttar's centre-back partner, Connor Goldson, had a nightmare for the away side's goal as Miovski got the better of him far too easily from a long ball but the Scotland international avoided any such issues.
The former Hearts titan was colossal at the back for the Gers as he dealt with the majority of the problems that Aberdeen caused through their attackers.
Minutes played
90
Duels won
Ten
Duels contested
15
Clearances
Four
Blocks
One
As you can see in the table above, the Light Blues monster dominated the opposition in physical battles as he won two of his three on the deck and eight of his 12 in the air.
His ability in the air was needed towards the end of the match as the Dons piled the pressure on after Dujon Sterling's red card reduced the hosts to ten men, as the towering defender won his duels to prevent flick-ons and knock-downs around the box.
Souttar was also composed in his use of the ball. He completed 87% of his attempted passes (74/85), six of his ten long passes, and 100% of his attempted dribbles (1/1).
The 27-year-old enforcer's vital defensive work played a key role in the win as the Gers won by a slender one-goal margin, which meant that any slip-up at the back could have resulted in points being dropped.
Instead of slip-ups, Souttar's footing was assured throughout and that is why he was the real hero of the night for Clement with his outstanding performance, starring alongside Matondo and Cantwell.