‘It was worth waiting for’ says Shankland as he volleys home first Premiership goal in United win
L a w r e n c e S h a n k l a n d described his first ever goal in the top division as “a wee bit of magic and a wee bit of luck” as he helped Dundee United defeat St Mirren at Tannadice.
Shankland’s sup erb volley on the turn on his return to t he s t a r t i ng l i ne - up f o l l ow - ing an ankle injury put Micky Mellon’s side in front before Adrian Sporle made it 2-0.
D y l a n C o n n o l l y g o t o n e back for Saints after defender Richard Tait had been shown a straight red card.
S h a n k l a n d s a i d : “I t wa s a great win for us. We knew it was an important game and we had to bounce back from the results we’ve had.
“And on a p ersonal note I was delighted to g et of f the ma r k a n d g e t my f i r s t g o a l of the season and first in the Premiership.
“If it is going to go in like that and that is going to be your first then it was worth waiting on. I was delighted to see it hit the net and get a win in my first start back.
“Sometimes you need a wee bit of magic and a wee bit of luck so for something to come off like that and give us the lead was good. It gave us confidence and we managed to hold out until half-time and get in at 1-0, then we kicked on from there.
“We t h e n g o t t h e s e c o n d , there was the sending off, then we gave them a wee lift with the goal and St Mirren then came back into the game and made us defend our box. We stood up to it and held out for a big result.
“I always knew I would get Premiership goals, it just helps if you are on the pitch, playing in the league every week! I knew it would come eventually. I backed myself and had belief that I would get one today.”
S t M i r r e n m a n a g e r J i m Go o dwin i n s i s t e d h i s t e a m would not lose faith despite losing their four th game on the bounce.
H e s a i d : “N o b o d y a t t h e c l u b wi l l l e t t h e i r h e a d s g o down even though we’ve lost a numb er of games back to back now.
“It could have been a different story if we had taken some of our opportunities but it just shows you the importance of the first goal in this league.
“B u t we’ l l ke e p b e l i e v i n g . There’s not a lot between most teams in this league.”