St Johnstone defender Frazer Wright admits it took him several days to get over his Highland howler but insists he is now fully recovered.
Wright was a candidate for man-of-the-match going in to the final couple of minutes of Saints’ away match against Ross County before he was caught out by opponent Melvin de Leeuw near the right-hand side corner flag.
Instead of booting the ball out, he fell to the floor and De Leeuw was able to take his time before cutting back to Graham Carey to fire home the only goal of the game.
Instead of hiding, though, Wright frankly admitted it was his error that cost his team a point and that he thought about nothing else in the days following the Dingwall clash.
Now, a week on, Wright is determined to get it right when St Mirren visit McDiarmid Park.
“It was just a mistake,” said Wright.
“I didn’t want to put the ball out for a corner and I thought I could let it come across my body a bit more and then put it out for a throw-in.
“Should I make another error like that any time soon then my confidence might be right down but I am determined that it won’t.
“These things happen but I hope it’s a wee while before something like that happens to me again.”
“It is harder when you make a mistake as a defender because you are more likely to be punished for it.
“Strikers and midfielders can make mistakes but then get bailed out. Unfortunately for me, the area I was in meant there was no one to help me out.”
Wright revealed that the pain of defeat left most of his teammates speechless and he himself has needed time to recover from the setback
“It was quite quiet on the bus down the road,” added Wright
“When you make a mistake like that in a game on a Saturday it is probably the following Tuesday before you are able to stop thinking about it.
“You don’t buy a paper or anything like that and have an early night when you get home from the game.
“Also, a couple of glasses of red wine seems to help!
“The annoying thing was that I actually thought I had a good game until that happened.
“I guess worse things have happened to me and I need to move on now.
“We have St Mirren at home next and then Hearts here as well so those are matches from which we should be looking to take maximum points).”
“We would have gotten a point on Saturday had it not been for the mistake.”
Saints have slipped down to seventh spot while a run of good results before last weekend’s loss to Celtic saw the Buddies move to within touching distance of the Perth club.
“A few weeks ago there appeared to be two separate groups–the top six and bottowm six–but now it’s all closer together,” said Wright.
“Our aim is to get into the top six, espacially after what we have achieved oveer the last two seasons.
“We can maybe see where we are after February.
“If we win our two cup games (the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen and Forfar in the Scottish) then we will be looking good.”
Saints boss Tommy Wright, meanwhile, is pleased that his oppositite number Danny Lennon survived the pressure he was under when the sides met back in mid-October.
“The last time we went to play them they were struggling a wee bit and everybody was calling for Danny’s head,” said Wright.
“They have stuck by Danny and that was the right thing to do.
“They have come back really well and that shows what can be achieved with hard work and graft.
“He has gotten them back up the table and they will be thinking that if they win this one then they can kick on.
“There are probably nine clubs now thinking they can get into the top six so it’s a really tight race.
“I watched St Mirren at Kilmarnock and they were unfortunate to concede a late goal and they did well in the first half against Celtic.”
The club have snapped up 19-year-old midfielder Wade Joyce on a free transfer from Barnsley, it was reported from down south.
Joyce, who is the son of Manchester United reserve coach Warren, has indicated he has agreed an initial deal until the end of the season with a view to extending it.
“I am delighted to be given this opportunity and hopefully a chance at playing first-team football and making a good impression,” said Joyce.