St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark admitted he was just trying to cause some “havoc” in the Rangers area when he went up for a stoppage-time corner.
Clark reckoned he might take a Rangers player out of the equation when someone was assigned to mark him, with the home side looking to protect their 1-0 lead in the final seconds of extra-time of the Scottish Cup quarter-final.
Instead he was left on his own on the six-yard line and rose unchallenged to head home Liam Craig’s corner off the foot of team-mate Chris Kane.
The Saints keeper was not finished with the heroics, saving from James Tavernier and Kemar Roofe in the shoot-out before Ali McCann sent the Betfred Cup winners back to Hampden for a semi-final against St Mirren.
Clark said: “When I was on loan at Queen of the South I went up for a game against Hearts in the last minute and hit the wrong side of the post.
“If a goalie goes up he’s just trying to cause a bit of havoc. Everybody’s got a player they’re supposed to be marking.
“If somebody just picks you up, it’s usually one of the bigger ones. It’s about creating a bit of uncertainty. It is a risk for the defending team if you take a man off a centre-half or a striker.
“I saw it all the way, got a glance on it, it’s hit Kano and we’ve scored. That was that. It’s a great feeling.
“I’ll now need to see if the chairman will give me an assist bonus.”
Clark ran off in delight before being swamped by his team-mates, but he knew he had not scored himself.
“I could see Kano put it in,” he said. “But everybody was running to me, so I was milking it.
“Then I just wanted to make sure we were all in place for the restart. I didn’t want them scoring from the half-way line after that.”
Clark quickly got himself composed for his next major contribution.
“I was able to switch my focus quickly for the penalties,” the 28-year-old said.
“A shoot-out can be a bit of a lottery, but if you do your homework you give yourself a better chance – which we had.
“Thankfully I saved the first one and the standard of the penalties from our boys was incredible. I’ve saved another one and Ali has finished the job off.”
‘He instantly popped into our ratings as one of the best U21 midfielders in Europe. The impressive thing is Slot has made him into more of a no.6' Inside Ryan Gravenberch's transformation at Liverpool
‘I don’t think Liverpool would look at Ollie Watkins, a striker isn’t a pressing issue for them – it’s Arsenal who need one’ Former Reds star explains why his old club don’t need an out-and-out forward this summer
