St Johnstone put their two-week Premiership break to the best possible use, Makenzie Kirk has revealed.
The young striker’s match-winning goal against Kilmarnock was a classic case of ‘off the training ground’, with his header from Andre Raymond’s cross a move Saints had fine-tuned over the last fortnight.
“We’ve been working on crossing and finishing over the last couple of weeks in training,” said Kirk.
“Finding the right areas with the delivery and making the right moves in the box.
“When the ball went out wide, it was my job to time my run and get something on it to put the ball in the net.
“It was a brilliant cross from Andre.
“It was one of those moves we’ve been working on.
“Andre did his bit and so did I.”
Kirk has the benefit of being coached by a top-class ex-forward, Andy Kirk, who is also his dad.
Andy would, naturally, have been proud of his boy when he darted across Kilmarnock centre-back, Lewis Mayo, to make contact with Raymond’s cross.
He would also have been proud to score a goal of that quality himself in his playing days.
“I bounce off my dad a lot,” said Makenzie.
“He’s got so much experience as a striker and passes on loads of really useful stuff.
“But there’s an instinct to what you do in the penalty box as well, I find.”
Kirk on his all-round game
Kirk arrived at McDiarmid Park with a reputation as a centre-forward who comes alive in the 18-yard box.
But he’s also shown Saints boss Simo Valakari that he has the work ethic to thrive in the top-flight of Scottish football.
“My game is pressing, running in behind and scoring goals,” said Kirk. “All the things a striker should have.
“I was delighted to get that type of goal.
“I’ll always say it, though – the most important thing was it helped get us a win because that was a massive result for us.
“We were disappointed after the Motherwell game and having to wait for two weeks to bounce back wasn’t ideal.
“But we’ve worked hard on the training ground over those two weeks and we’ve made it count by getting a really important win.”
It was a feather in Kirk’s cap that he was selected by Valakari to partner Benji Kimpioka in such an important fixture.
The Finn described it as a “logical” conclusion to a timeless story of impressing in training.
“As a young player, I’ve got to look up to the more experienced boys and listen to them,” said Kirk.
“The likes of Nicky (Clark), G (Graham Carey) and Holty (Jason Holt) have seen so much in the game.
“And I’ve also got to learn off Benji and Adama (Sidibeh) because they’re both great strikers.
“The way I see it, I have to keep working hard in training and showing that I’m capable of starting games.
“Then when I get the opportunity, take it, like I did today.
“It was great that the manager put his faith in me and I could score a goal for the team.”
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