Kevin Nisbet's Aberdeen wonderstrike branded a JOKE as teammate hopes it gives Dons last laugh in fight for third

The striker came back to haunt his former club as he controlled the ball on his chest at the edge of the box then sent a glory strike into the top corner

Leighton Clarkson hopes Kevin Nisbet’s “joke” of a goal against Hibs can help Aberdeen have the last laugh in the race for third.

The Dons striker came back to haunt his former club on Saturday as he controlled the ball on his chest at the edge of the box then sent a glory strike into the top corner.

The 1-0 win ended Hibs’ 17-game unbeaten Premiership run and saw the Dons draw level on points with them in the fight for third place.

Midfielder Clarkson is hoping the victory will be end up being pivotal and said: “We were patient and thankfully the goal came. It was just ridiculous.

“I was right behind it and the way he has chested it and has managed to get a good contact with the outside of his boot, it was a joke of a goal.

“It was a game that we felt we needed to win.

“I felt we dominated throughout and they came in and tried to play on transitions and set-pieces, which we dealt with for large parts of it.

“We didn’t get frustrated and we didn’t take our foot off the gas in the match.”

Clarkson reckons justice was done because Hibs tried to kill the game and win it with a counter or a set-play. The playmaker said: “They came up here for the set-pieces and to frustrate us.

“They did it from minute one, going down for a long time. Again, we stood firm and were really resilient.

“It didn’t matter what they were doing, it was more about us in the game. Even though it was 1-0, we thoroughly deserved the win.

“We were saying that at half-time. We were getting in but the final pass or final shot wasn’t really there. Sometimes you get games like that.

“It is just a case of somebody grasping the game by the neck and pulling something out, especially him (Nisbet), as we know he can do.

“As soon as we got that goal we knew we had something to hold on to.”

Aberdeen are now back on track with an eight-game unbeaten run after a major mid-season wobble.

Clarkson reckons they have grown as a team and are now showing patience when rivals try to sit in against them.

The 23-year-old said: “That is the thing we have grown on in the last few months.

“When people are sitting in we are trying to be as patient as possible. I know the fans want us to attack as quickly as possible but it doesn’t always work like that.

“You need to tire them out, move them, switch them, go over them and play through.

“You might need to do any of these things and to start positively and hopefully goals will come. Through the season we have scored some last- minute winners.

“It wasn’t a last minute on Saturday but it was towards the end of the game and it gave us a cushion.”

Aberdeen now have four games left in the league and a Scottish Cup Final to focus on.

Clarkson claims the final is out of their minds for now and the focus is on trying to clinch third, with St Mirren up next in Paisley this weekend.

The ex-Liverpool youngster said: “Even from the other week that game (the cup semi) is behind us now and is something to look forward to.

“It was about winning on Saturday. We have St Mirren and it is always a tough place to go. We are not taking anything for granted. We will rest, recover and go again