Brian Easton has revealed that the thought of having to buy juice for his team-mates helped fine tune the volleying skills he displayed to stunning effect against Aberdeen on Saturday.
The big defender hadn’t scored for nearly five years with his last counter coming on December 11, 2010 for Burnley in a 3-2 defeat against Leeds.
While not exactly being prolific, there was only one thought in the 27-year-old’s mind when the ball broke to him 30 yards out at Pittodrie and that was to try an ambitious volley which flew into the back of the net to set Saints on their way to what would prove to be a famous 5-1 victory over the Premiership league leaders.
Easton said: “It’s my first St Johnstone goal and my first in a few years. The first thing that came into my head was to have a go.
“It was a great feeling to watch it fly in. But it only put us 1-0 up against a good Aberdeen side so I wasn’t getting too carried away.
“The main thing was to back it up with a win which we did. That was very pleasing.
“It’s definitely the best goal of my career and only the fourth. The others have been tap-ins from two yards out.
“I’m hoping Sky Sports will be replaying it a few times over.
“Most people were probably expecting it to end up in Row Z. But it was a great feeling to see it go in. I don’t get that feeling very often.
“At the time, I was more focused on keeping the concentration and winning the game, though.
“We had a real confidence going into the match that we could get a result.
“We actually have a wee game on Thursdays at the end of training. It’s volleys where you need to score to be able to leave. The last one left has to buy the juice I’ve never had to buy the juice!
“I’m not too bad with the volleys at the edge of the box. I’ll need to give (assistant manager) Callum Davidson a bit of credit because he takes it and tees us up for the volleys.”
St Johnstone’s win over Aberdeen was their third on the bounce following their League Cup win at Rangers and the victory over Dundee United at McDiarmid.
And Easton admits spirits are high within the Saints camp at the moment.
He added: “There’s a confidence about the place just now. It shows you the squad we have.
“Alan Mannus was suspended and Chris Millar and Michael O’Halloran, two influential players, were out injured.
“But we have players who step in and look strong. Big Zander Clark is going to be a top quality keeper.
“We just had the feeling that we could get a result. But we didn’t think we would win 5-1!
“We’re delighted going into the international break on the back of a few good wins.
“It will be a bit of rest now and I’ll be watching my goal!
“We had such a short summer so it’s important to get a few days off to take your mind off football and let your body rest.
“It will do us good come the second half of the season. The gaffer is good with things like that.
“We have a couple of days training but on the days off it will be rest and relaxation.”