Dundee United spot-kick save hero Eiji Kawashima believes the point he helped secure at Hamilton may yet turn out to be significant.
The Tangerines, backed by a tremendous 1200-plus support, drew 0-0 at New Douglas Park against the Accies and it was a hugely improved display on their last trip to the Lanarkshire ground in August, when they shipped four goals without reply.
While Saturday’s result would in normal circumstances be deemed a very good day’s work indeed, they somewhat frustratingly saw themselves fall further behind at the foot of the Premiership.
Kilmarnock’s win a few miles down the road at Motherwell meant the Steelmen replaced them as United’s target team in 11th spot in the table.
Killie had started the day 11 ahead of Mixu Paatelainen’s but are now 13 better off, leaving the Fir Park side, who travel to Tannadice on Tueday night for a rearranged game, a dozen ahead and the team to catch now.
If the Tangerines can beat them the points differential will go down to a surely psychologically important single figure.
Japanese international goalkeeper Kawashima, who blocked Ali Crawford’s 86th minute kick with his legs after Paul Paton had challenged Dougie Imrie inside the box, said: “It was a big moment in the game. Had they had scored we wouldn’t have got a point.
“We had won two games in a row going into it and I think we deserved to win this one also.
“However, this one point can change the rest of the season. We have to be positive about it going into Tuesday. We have more confidence.
“There are two ways to think about it. If we lose (against Motherwell), then we have screwed up. If we win, then it’s a big chance to stay up.
“It is difficult and the pressure on us because if we lose any game we only have a tiny, tiny chance to stay up.
“But there are always possibilities in football and we can do this by believing and trying to win every game.
“We try to think in a positive way. If we win on Tuesday then we have a big chance.
“We could be negative in this position that we are in, especially if we were losing games, but we are not losing now. We have to believe in ourselves.”
Kawashima revealed that he gave himself as much time as possible before guessing where Crawford would put his penalty.
He said: “I didn’t think too much but I tried to wait until the last moment. He put it down the middle and, thankfully, I saved it.”
United had a claim for a spotkick of their own turned down by referee Steven Mclean on 54 minutes when Coll Donaldson appeared to be fouled by Lucas Tagliapietra.
However, manager Paatelainen, having reviewed the incident on video after the game, was happy to concede the match official was right to wave play on.
Paatelainen said: “It wasn’t a penalty. “There was some contact before the penalty area so if anything it should have been a free-kick, but not a penalty.
“I’ve seen it on the monitor and it wasn’t a penalty.
“Hamilton then got a penalty, and there was contact inside the penalty area, so you understand why the referee gave it, and I have no complaints.”
The United gaffer, quite rightly, felt that a 1-0 would have flattered Accies.
He said: “I thought we were worth a point. Although that wasn’t our best performance, we were well worth a point.
“I thought we were pressing and trying to win the game but we were a little bit ineffective so I thought: ‘We’ll take a draw.’
“We still have momentum because prior to this game we had won three of our last four games and now we have a draw.
“We will take a point and it could be a valuable one.”
Paatelainen was satisfied with a point and said it was a game his side would have lost even a few weeks ago.
He added: “I must say that a few weeks ago we would have lost that one, but we didn’t, and we’ll take a point and go towards Tuesday.
“Now we look forward to Motherwell. It won’t be easy. They’re fighting for their lives and not picking up points at the moment so they’ll be looking to change that.
“They will see the bottom of the league club as an opportunity to bounce back, so it will be an exciting match.”
Hamilton, who lost Mikey Devlin to a red card in injury-time after he fouled Billy Mckay, sit eighth in the table, a healthy 15 points clear of United, and will hope to build on a run of three games undefeated that has also seen them beat Killie and draw with Hearts.
Manager Martin Canning said: “I would rather have had all three points.
“There wasn’t a lot in the game – it was a bit of a tense match.
“I think you could see what was at stake at this point in the season.
“For us it’s pleasing because it’s the fourth clean sheet in five games, which is a positive, but to miss a penalty late in the game feels like we lost.
“The boys put so much into the game and, had we won, it would have been a big three points for us.
“However, every point is valuable at this stage in the season and it would have been great to have won, but more importantly that was a game not to lose.
“It keeps a wee run going and we move on.”