It was a dark day for Dundee United and a dark day for Callum Booth.
But missing the final penalty that condemned the Tangerines to play-off heartbreak against St Mirren two years ago helped the left-back become a spot-kick hero for St Johnstone.
Booth has got a 100% record in shoot-outs for Saints this season.
With a Betfred Cup group bonus point on the line he scored against United, then again when the stakes were raised in the quarter-final at Dunfermline and most recently he held his nerve as the Perth men knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup.
And putting his hand up for penalty duties has meant going back on a pledge he made after the trauma of Paisley.
Booth, the last of FOUR United players to miss in the 2019 play-off final, said: “I didn’t have any thoughts about that (the St Mirren game) on Sunday otherwise I would probably have missed!
“I was quite calm to be honest. It’s a long walk to the penalty spot and I’m sure my family would have been a lot more nervous than me. My dad would have been panicking while he was listening on the radio.
“I’d scored two before that this season. I had in my head what I was going to do and stayed pretty composed. I didn’t make eye contact with the goalie, I knew what side I was going to go and it was pure relief when it went in.”
Did his United experience help at Ibrox?
“I suppose it did,” Booth reflected. “That was obviously a bad time for me – my penalty was the decider. I think I promised my family I would never take one again!
“But I’ve stepped up for three this season and scored them all.
“After the Dundee United one you think: ‘Nothing could really be worse than that’.”
