St Mirren’s stand-in skipper Mark O’Hara revealed he can’t help torturing himself watching back his missed opportunity against Rangers.
With the scoreline still 2-0 at Ibrox last Saturday, the midfielder burst into the box in acres of space before collecting a Keanu Baccus cross and firing at Allan McGregor.
The former Scotland international keeper showed his experience to race off his line and pull off a superb stop to deny O’Hara at a crucial moment in the match.
After admitting he’s watched the save back multiple times, 26-year-old O’Hara insists he can’t wait to make amends when his next chance to burst the net comes calling.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, O’Hara said: “The manager stressed to us on Monday there were positives to take from the Rangers game. We created a lot of chances. Not many teams will go to Ibrox and create as many chances as we did this season. It’s a very tough place to go.
“I had a great chance myself. I saw a big space open up and Keanu has put a brilliant ball into the box. I’ve been torturing myself watching it back. I’ve watched it so many times, trying to work out what I could have done better.
“It’s actually not the worst first touch. McGregor has done well to close the space down, but even looking back at the pictures you can see he’s off the ground.
“I could have gone under him with the shot. It’s so disappointing, I’ve watched it numerous times but I think now it’s important not to dwell on it. I’m just going to make sure I bury the next chance I get and put that miss to bed.”
O’Hara has enjoyed a solid start to his career in the stripes since moving to Paisley in the summer from Motherwell, bagging two goals including a memorable header against Celtic last month.
Despite their heavy defeat at the hands of Rangers, the Buddies are still sitting fourth in the Premiership table, having already played both of the Old Firm in their opening nine matches.
With home clashes to come against former club Kilmarnock and Dundee United in the next two weeks, O’Hara is confident St Mirren can shake off their defeat in Glasgow.
O’Hara said: “Losing four goals is obviously not great, but it didn’t feel like a normal 4-0 defeat. We played better than that scoreline suggests.
“We’ve had a couple of heavy defeats this season but I think they’ve all looked worse on the face of it.
“The 3-0 against St Johnstone also never felt like that heavy a defeat with the way we played that day.
“The mood in camp is definitely not down. We’re pleased with our start to the season. It’s up to us now to make the most of them.”
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