Even if James Brown had scored 100 goals already, his 25-yard wonder-strike to set St Johnstone on their way to a famous victory over Rangers would have gone straight to the top of the pile for the Perth defender.
That it was his first, doesn’t change the fact it will more than likely end up being his best.
“Well, it is the only one of my career so far!” said Brown.
“And it might take some beating.
“My last one must have been youth football, ages ago. Terrible, I know.
“But if you are going to score one that is probably the game to do it in.
“I knew it was in as soon as it left my foot. Sometimes you just know.
“It’s hard to say I knew what I was doing. I just got a touch out of my feet and smashed it.
🤯 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 🤯
A thunderous wonder strike from James Brown has St Johnstone ahead! 💥 pic.twitter.com/D4tLuYKCYh
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 6, 2022
“I caught it pure and I could not feel anything as it left my foot and it flew into the top corner. It was a lovely feeling.
“I got a bit stick in the dressing room afterwards about not scoring.
“It is something I need to add to my game, playing out a wing back – goals and assists.
“It is just nice to do it on a stage like this.”
Celebrations a blur
That part of the afternoon might be crystal clear in his memory but the same can’t be said for the moments that followed.
“I can’t even remember how I celebrated,” Brown admitted.
“Apparently I just put my finger in the air and ran off. I just got bundled into by all the boys.”
At 2-0 up, Rangers pulled one back with over 15 minutes left.
The heart-breaking late loss to Celtic last month worked as motivation to make sure the Saints lead was kept intact.
“That helped,” said Brown.
“That one stung a bit. So it was nice to get one go in our favour and hold on.
“I thought the subs that came on helped us nullify the game. You have to use every trick in the book to slow the game down. We did that well.
“Rangers’ problems have been well documented of late.
“I don’t want to say it was a good time to play them but we knew we had the quality to hurt them at the other end and I thought we had some good chances.
“You have to keep their fans as quiet possible and stop their momentum and then slowly edge your way into the game.
“We have played the big two enough to know that can work in your favour. I thought we did that well.”
Onwards and upwards
With three straight wins under their built, confidence is soaring in the McDiarmid Park dressing room.
“The mental side is massive in football,” said Brown.
“You can see how tight it is from 10th to fourth – you win two or three on the bounce and you can catapult right up the league.
“That’s all we worry about and we will look to St Mirren and if we beat them I think that will take us further up the table.”
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