The striker had to think quick despite the euphoria of his Edinburgh derby winning goalAfter bending the ball into the top corner of Hibs’ net and sprinting off behind the goal in a fit of delirium late on Wednesday night, Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland quickly had to rethink his celebration act. Scoring a derby-winning goal in stoppage-time at Easter Road left the away support ecstatic, but home fans were not quite as welcoming.
Shankland revealed today that some Hibs supporters launched coins towards him, forcing a change of direction during the celebratory run as he headed away from the touchline and back towards team-mates in the penalty area. “I did about 4k in my celebration. To be honest, if I turned round and picked up the coins I’d have been a rich man,” he remarked.
“There were a few flying past. I might take a venture out to that corner. It was a special feeling and your adrenaline takes over at those points. I made a U-turn when I saw the coins coming. It was special and enjoyed it. The goal was a long punt up the pitch [from goalkeeper Zander Clark]. To be honest, I had my back turned to the ball and it just dropped. I was one-on-one and it was about getting my shot away. I probably couldn’t have picked a better spot to put it to be honest, just shifted it onto my left and put it in the top corner. A great feeling.”
Shankland saw an early penalty clip the post and go wide before Hibs forward Martin Boyle’s spot-kick was saved by Clark. The winning goal stood as a rare moment of class in a game largely bereft of quality. “It wasn’t great. Personally, I wasn’t great at all, either. I wasn’t happy with my performance but it was all about getting that one moment,” said Shankland
As were scenes at full-time as around 3,800 Hearts fans sang the names of both Shankland and Clark. Shankland explained his gratitude to the goalkeeper. “He deserved the plaudits. He got us that result in a way. He kept us in the game,” said the striker. “You have to keep a clean sheet to have a chance to go and win it. He did that and played a huge part in that. I owe him one.
“I’m delighted for him as well. It’s not easy when you are playing in a team and you have Craig Gordon coming back from injury. An international goalie, a top goalie for Hearts. It’s not easy to play with that pressure but I thought he has handled it really well. He’s got Scotland games recently. I’m delighted for him.”
The penalty miss won’t linger long in the forward’s thoughts. “I couldn’t believe it! ‘Why have you no’ gone in?!’ I don’t think I connected with it,” he explained. “I practiced the day before and made my mind up where I was going. I don’t change my mind. I just obviously didn’t connect with the ball properly. It’s life as a striker. You need to get over those moments quickly. You could say I didn’t with my performance! It took me the 90 minutes to get it and managed to produce in injury time. I will remember the goal, I won’t remember the penalty.”
Following seven wins from their last 10 matches, Hearts will aim for six points against Ross County on Saturday and Livingston next Tuesday before the winter break. “We’ve had a decent month. Really decent, actually,” said Shankland. “The disappointment of [losing at] Aberdeen has probably been the only down point of it but I feel we have bounced back really well from that, picked ourselves up and got some great wins – Parkhead, here, home to St Mirren in recent weeks. It has been good and we’ve got two more games before the break. If we win them we’ll put ourselves in a good position.”
Asked if the break may be coming at the wrong time for the Tynecastle club, Shankland was coy with his answer. “It depends where you end up. If you get yourselves in a good position before the break then you can go and enjoy it, get a bit of rest, ready to come back and go again,” he said. “There have been some really big games in there, big wins. Wednesday is a massive one.
“You don’t play your greatest but go away with three points, you take that. It shows we stuck at it, kept a clean sheet and Zander saving the penalty, bailing me out massively! Huge credit goes to him. I feel he’s had a wee bit of stick here and there. I don’t know if he deserved it, all in all. A lot of clean sheets in there and he’s produced big moments and he should enjoy that. I certainly owe him a beer!”
Hearts are relaxed regarding Shankland’s future despite a number of clubs monitoring his goalscoring prowess. The goal against Hibs was his 16th in 26 games at club level this season. As the January transfer window prepares to open, there are plenty reasons for the player to stay put in Gorgie. He wants to keep scoring goals to make Scotland’s European Championship squad, he is adored by supporters and is happy within the squad.
“That’s it, aye. I’ve always said, when I deal with speculation, I deal with the here and now. For me, I just look at it that it is a sign I’m doing well. There’s never speculation when you are not doing so well so it’s a good thing for me that people are talking about me in a positive manner.
“It shows I’m doing well at my club and that I’m scoring goals. That’s honestly as far as I look at it. If it comes about that’s when I’ll sit down and talk about it but until then I’ve got 18 months on my contract, I’m happy here, enjoying it, I’m scoring goals. That’s honestly as far as I’m looking at it.”
The player doesn’t see himself as a legend after only 18 months in maroon. “Nah, I wouldn’t say that! That status is for other people to speak about you that way. I’d never put that label on myself. I think you need to be winning trophies and stuff like that to pass that barrier,” he stressed.
“Hopefully that is something I can do while I am here. Listen, right now, things have been going well. Since I joined things have gone well. Obviously my goalscoring has played a big part in that. Moments like that in the derby obviously help. I’ll enjoy that from Wednesday, it was special.”
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