Why Brad’s Saints goal was written in the stars

TURNS out not everyone was gobsmacked by the sight of a substitute central defender — who hasn’t made the St Johnstone starting XI since the beginning of last season — rising to score the most dramatic of late League Cup winners against Hearts at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday night. Brad McKay, it seems, had more than just an inkling that this would be his night. Somewhere in his bones, the former Jambos player felt as if destiny was beckoning. Revealing that he’d specifically invited friends to the game just to witness a match-winning performance ‘written in the stars’, the 23-year-old admitted he’d been motivated by a desire to bury memories of last season’s first trip back to Tynecastle since leaving Gorgie — when he slipped to hand his old club victory. ‘It was a bit unexpected,’ he said of the goal that took Saints through to a quarter-final at Aberdeen. ‘But I actually got a couple of my mates tickets to come and watch. ‘If I’m not playing, I usually tell them not to bother. But I texted them yesterday just to say: “I’m on the bench — but I’ve got a strange feeling about this”. So I got five of them tickets. ‘Some are Hearts fans, none are St Johnstone fans, unfortunately. But they were sitting in the St Johnstone end and they did celebrate with me. ‘It seemed to be written in the stars, that one. Obviously my return to Tynecastle last season wasn’t how I planned it. ‘I slipped, of course. But this is a bit sweeter.’ The late header was also celebrated on a personal level by McKay, who explained: ‘I’ve had quite a tough month or two, personally. There have been birthdays of people who are no longer with us — I’ll keep who it is private. ‘That’s why my celebration involved me pointing upwards. Because that goal was for them.’