He did his best to claim the penalty-kick that has gone into St Johnstone folklore.
But earning it brought just as much satisfaction to Chris Kane, the ultimate team player.
Dragged down to the ground by Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera just inside the box in the second half of the Europa League third round qualifier in Istanbul, the Saints striker had the confidence to put the ball on the spot and take the responsibility to put his side 1-0 up.
But captain Jason Kerr had other ideas and, as Kane revealed, he had the look of a man not to be crossed.
WATCH: Jason Kerr's penalty puts St Johnstone 1-0 up 👇 pic.twitter.com/riD4Si0QWE
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) August 5, 2021
“I gambled on the pass back to the goalkeeper and decided to run through,” said Kane.
“I thought: ‘I’m getting here’ and I managed to bring the goalkeeper out. He hesitated a bit and kneed it off me and I got the break of the ball.
“I was ready to put it in the back of the net but then he pulled me down.
“We got the penalty and scored it. That is the main thing.
“It was a great penalty by Jason. I did want it myself but when I see him storming up to me I thought better of it!
“The gaffer decided before the match that Jason would take a penalty if we got one. During the game I was feeling so good that I did try and chance my luck.
“But Jason was on it and he slotted it away. It was brilliant and what a moment to go ahead against Galatasaray.”
What a moment and what a result – a stand-alone occasion that rivals last season’s cup final triumphs, according to Kane.
“It was brilliant,” he said. “An absolutely amazing night.
“That result was just as good a feeling winning both cups last season.
“The cups were an unbelievable feeling but to get a draw against a team like Galatasaray, it is just phenomenal.
“They are a massive team. A lot of their players were bought for millions.
“It does show because they passed the ball well and their movement was impressive. Their central midfielders were getting on the ball and spraying it about.
“They were tough to play against but it was a great experience for us.
“We have a right good team at the moment and the manager set us up perfectly.
“We are playing brilliant football and defending well. It is an absolute joy to play here.”
Solid foundations again
Kane added: “Our defence was absolutely brilliant. Major credit to them and the midfielders. The striker does a bit of the work too.
“Big Zander Clark also deserves a lot of praise. He produced an absolutely world class save at the end to keep us in the game.”
The 9,000 Galatasaray fans in their temporary home of the Fatih Terim stadium helped make the night an even more memorable and now it will be the turn of the Saints supporters to do the same on Thursday.
Chris Kane casually waving to a raging supporter there https://t.co/t3enqt7U6C
— Stuart Taylor 🏆🏆 (@Taylor_sjfc) August 6, 2021
“It was very loud,” said Kane. “It was only half capacity but the noise was something else.
“Every time we were on the ball they were whistling and booing.
“That is what you want in football, though – playing in front of passionate fans.
“It spurs you on that wee bit more. We are all experienced players so we didn’t let it get to us.
“We all want a sell-out at McDiarmid Park for the return leg.
“We want to get as many fans in as possible to get the place rocking.
“Hopefully we will get the all-clear from the council. With McDiarmid Park full, the supporters can spur us on to get a famous result next week.”
Before the return leg against Galatasary, Saints will face Motherwell in their first home league game of the season on Sunday.
“We have bags of confidence after this result,” said Kane.
“Motherwell scored a couple of goals against Hibs so we will need to look at that.
“We will try and exploit their weaknesses and get the win.”
