Alnwick glad to atone for Old Firm debut
JAK ALNWICK says St Mirren’s win at Parkhead has finally eased the pain of the humiliation he suffered at the Glasgow ground with Rangers.
Alnwick was outstanding for the Ibrox club on his first appearance at Celtic Park in an Old Firm game in 2018 – but his team still ended up being thrashed 5-0.
The English goalkeeper had a far more enjoyable experience in the East End at the weekend as Jim Goodwin’s side ran out 2-1 winners.
He produced a vital save from a Shane Duffy header late on to ensure the Paisley club triumphed at the venue for the first time since April 1990.
The 27-year-old revealed the memory of his difficult debut against Celtic had always rankled him and confessed he took great personal satisfaction from the weekend victory.
“It was a much busier day back then,” he said. “We got beat by five and it could have been 10. It was relentless that day.
“But it wasn’t like that on Saturday. When you go to play the Old Firm clubs you expect to be busy, but that wasn’t the case. I am happier when I’ve got nothing to do!
“It was a total contrast to coming here with Rangers that day. It was a huge disappointment back then. Personally, I might have had a decent game, but it’s never nice losing five to your big rivals and it was a sore one.
“So there was a bit of me that thought it was nice to walk off with a win this time.
“When you have a Rangers background it always stays with you. There’s probably a few Rangers fans in our dressing room and there’s some Celtic fans are well.
“A lot of them want to get one over Celtic, but even if that’s your team you are more determined to get one over them as well. I’m performing for St Mirren – we all are – and the main thing is it’s nice to get the win for us.”
First-half Kristian Dennis and Ilkay Durmus goals ensured that St Mirren beat Celtic and leapfrogged Dundee
United into sixth Premiership.
Alnwick, who dedicated the result to the supporters who were not allowed into Parkhead because of the Covid-19 pandemic, felt the result was not a fluke.
He is hopeful the SMISA Stadium club, who play Hibernian at home tomorrow, can now go on and finish in the top half of the table for the first time.
“It was fully deserved,” he said. “It wasn’t a smash and grab. Look at the way we played, especially in the first half.
“The first goal was one of the best goals you’ll see all season. If anyone else scored that goal people would be raving about it.
“I’d love to say that save got me a win bonus, but that’s obviously not the case right now, which is fine with all that’s going on.
“We would have felt hard done by if we didn’t get the three points. It was great to go there, put on a performance and get a result like that for the first time in years. That’s for the fans – it’s just such a shame they weren’t there to enjoy it.
“There’s a real togetherness about this group and that’s not an easy thing to get these days, when you can’t socialise together, go for a coffee or a beer after the game.
“We’ve had a lot thrown at us this season, players coming down with coronavirus and so on, but we’ve dealt with the setbacks and it’s amazing how we’ve come out the other end. The top six has to be the aim now though.”
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