Saints penalty hero McCann: I was trying not to over-think it when I took my shot
Ali McCann is probably still running.
But the energetic St Johnstone midfielder did have a short window of time to reflect back on Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarterfinal shootout win against Rangers.
The Northern Ireland international netted the winning penalty on a night packed full of twists and turns.
“I was trying not to think too much. You can over-think these things,” McCann said of the seconds before his penalty.
“I picked my spot early doors and wasn’t changing. I had my head down and made sure I got a decent contact.
“I didn’t really know what to do when I scored. I just ran over to Zander in the end.”
Big goalkeeper Zander Clark assisted Saints’ equaliser deep into extra-time, nodding into the path of Chris Kane.
McCann smiled: “Seeing
Zander running up was a bit surreal. And then he actually got his head on it!
“I think he thought he scored. He was running away celebrating.
“It was brilliant and you can’t write these sort of things. It just summed up the dressing room we’ve got.
“It was a difficult game. The amount of work the lads put in was incredible. Even the subs coming on, it was incredible.
“It’s testament to our character, going 1-0 down so late on and then big Zander getting his head on it. And then the nerve shown to get through on the penalty kicks was just brilliant.”
Saints will play St Mirren at Hampden in the semi-final on Sunday, May 9.
“We’ll go into the semi-final just like we did with the League Cup,” McCann explained. “It’s an incredible achievement for us already. If we can go a couple of steps further it would be unbelievable for the fans and the club.”