Jamie McGrath thought his late St Mirren effort was a lost cause – so he was both delighted and shocked to see it bobble into the net when he turned around to see where it’d gone.
The Saints are through to the last eight of the League Cup after a 2-1 win over Aberdeen. Ilkay Durmus opened the scoring, but despite dominating the game, it was 1-1 heading into the final minutes.
As the clock hit 89, McGrath took a shot at goal from range, turning away as it sailed harmlessly towards Dons keeper Joe Lewis. He inexplicably bobbled it through his legs and into the net, leaving McGrath buzzing.
“I had gone to get my shape again after shooting and I glanced back to see the keeper struggling,” said McGrath. “I was delighted to see the ball go into the net and we go into the next round.
“That’s the all-important thing. We are all delighted. I thought we were the much more dominant side. It’s not easy playing a team of that quality.
“I think the first half we were the better side and it was a sucker punch to come in at 1-1. But overall I thought we deserved to win.”
A key man in this display alongside McGrath was Jake Doyle-Hayes, a recent arrival from Aston Villa. His Irish teammate says the former Aston Villa man has been a worthy addition in Paisley.
“Jake’s a very good footballer,” McGrath explained. “It’s not just on the ball, he’s very good off it. He works very hard and he’s a welcome addition no doubt.
“He’s had a great start to life here so hopefully that continues. We are six unbeaten now so we need to try and build on this. But we have Aberdeen next, so it won’t be easy.”