Trevor Carson isn't afraid to admit he loved being the star of the show in Paisley as his impressive saves earned St Mirren a draw.
And the stopper revealed his years of training with Kilmarnock star Kyle Lafferty on Northern Ireland duty helped him keep the striker out at a pivotal moment in Saturday's goalless draw.
The Buddies were below par at the weekend and relied heavily on their number one to keep the scores level, not least when Lafferty broke through one-on-one just five seconds into the second half.
Carson stood up strong to deny the forward with his foot, also pulling off a memorable double save later on in the game to keep out Rory McKenzie and former Saints winger Jordan Jones.
When asked if he got the same buzz from making crucial saves that strikers feel when scoring goals, Carson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: "100 per cent. Any keeper that tells you different is a liar.
"It's so nice to contribute. On the whole this season there's been games, like the Livingston win, where I didn't have a big save to make. I was solid but there was nothing big for me to do. For me any human that tells you it's not nice to be told 'well done' is lying. It's great.
"It was a bit surreal. I've been in the game 30 years and I've never had something like that happen five seconds after kick-off.
"For me personally, the fact I made the save gave me a confidence boost at the start of the second half.
"I've played with Kyle since he was 15. I know he can go either way, so I made sure I stood up as long as I could and react to the shot, rather than gamble.
"He's that clever he can wait till you go and then put it the other way. That was on my mind. I stood as long as I could to make him make the decision. He hit it close enough I could react to it.
"I've played with Dunne for five or six years. It was his clearance that Lafferty blocked, but he has got me out of trouble more than enough times in the past. It was nice to repay the favour."
While the Buddies were left frustrated they couldn't maintain their winning home streak, Carson insists they have to take the positives of hanging on to a point when not playing their best.
The 34-year-old feels that is often the sign of a good team heading into their next clash at the SMiSA Stadium against Dundee United.
Carson said: "It's disappointing to draw to Kilmarnock. No disrespect to them but we wanted to win the game.
"They were the better side, but I think we'll look back on this game as a vital point in keeping that momentum at home going with another clean sheet.
"It’s not a bad trait to have, being able to grind out a draw when you aren’t at your best. We’re only human and sometimes things that we’ve worked on all week don’t quite come off but credit to the boys - we still came out of it with a clean sheet and we’ll dust ourselves down and go again."
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