Derek Gaston has revealed he was sick prior to Saturday’s Championship showdown against Partick Thistle after the Arbroath goalkeeper was struck down by a vomiting bug.
Gaston was violently ill on Friday night and was anything but 100% ahead of the trip to Maryhill.
His wife even advised him to recover at home after being confined to his bed on the morning of the match.
However, Gaston declared himself available and was arguably the only Arbroath player to truly do himself justice against the Jags, pulling off a string of saves to deny Kyle Turner, Brian Graham and Darren Brownlie.
But he was ultimately beaten twice by Turner as Thistle claimed a comfortable 2-0 triumph.
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“I was up all Friday night,” explained Gaston. “It’s a sickness bug and I was up every hour during the night. I actually went back to my bed at 11am on Saturday morning for an extra hour!
“My wife was saying I shouldn’t have been playing.
“If the result had gone our way in the Dundee-Cove match (0-0 draw), then I would have probably given it a miss, but I knew how big a game it was.
“I was throwing up in the toilet after the warm-up. I thought, ‘just give it your best’ and fortunately I managed to battle through it.
“I think everyone in the squad would do the same. We all knew how big the game was.”
Perspective
The defeat extended Arbroath’s winless streak to five matches.
At a time of the season when momentum is crucial, it has deserted the Lichties.
Nevertheless, their fate is in their own hands. A win against Hamilton will assure Championship survival. Even a draw will be enough given the disparity in goal difference between them and Cove.
As recently as last month, Arbroath were joint-bottom of the division despite playing a game more than Accies.
Gaston is retaining that sense of perspective ahead of the Friday night finale.
“That’s what is annoying everyone here: We have had chances to stay up in recent games,” continued Gaston. “Against Cove, where a draw would have been enough; the same on Saturday.
“But, if you’d asked us two months ago — when we were bottom of the league — if you only needed a draw at home to Hamilton on the last day of the season to stay up, then we would’ve taken it.
“I would rather be in our position than the two teams below us going into the last day.
“We’ve played in some big games over the last few years and are confident of getting the result.”
‘Fans can give us that push’
Arbroath can also count on home advantage, albeit — by Gaston’s admission — Gayfield has been far from a fortress this term.
“The results and performances haven’t been good enough at home this season,” he added. “But the fans continue to turn up in their numbers and back us. Hopefully they can give us that push over the line.”
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