ARBROATH super-sub keeper Ali Adams knew he could make an impact as a makeshift striker – but never dreamed he’d blast home a 30-yard wonder strike.
The humble back-up goalie became an instant cult hero for the Red Lichties when he came off the bench to spark an incredible comeback against Raith Rovers.
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Boss Jim McIntyre had used his only three outfield subs when Aaron Steele became the latest player to hobble off injured.
That left sub goalie Adams the last remaining replacement and the call was made for the towering keeper to join the fray upfront.
The 32-year-old’s arrival was mocked by the Rovers fans who were certain their side were on the road to victory thanks to strikes from Dylan Easton and Jack Hamilton.
But Adams had other ideas when he unleashed an unstoppable drive that gave Rovers keeper Kevin Dabrowski no chance.
A spot kick from Leighton McIntosh secured a precious point but all the talk was about Adams’ wonder goal – even though the man himself was quick to hail his team-mates.
He said: “All the boys have come together – it’s not just about me.
“We’ve got a thin squad and hopefully that will get rectified over the next few weeks.
“But all the boys have dug in since the new gaffer took over.
“He asked me if I was willing to go on and I said, ‘Of course. I’ll go and help the team’.
“When I went on, everyone in the stadium thought it was a joke but one person didn’t.
“I’m confident in my abilities and I know I can play a bit.
“But obviously I didn’t expect that. I just thought I’lll have a go and it was just instinctive.
“It was one of those situations where nobody is expecting anything from you.
“It’s almost like playing football at the five-a-sides with your mates.
“I said to the gaffer as well, ‘I’m not going to go on and just stand about and make myself look stupid’.
“There were 3,800 people in the place and I wasn’t going to just go on and embarrass myself.
“I was going to put myself about, if nothing else.
“I know people say this all the time, but I knew straight away as soon as I hit it it was a goal.”
Asked if he felt guilty about scoring against another keeper, he said: “Absolutely not. I just thought, ‘Have some of that’.”
To add another astonishing twist to the day, Adams revealed it was his first start in a league match for the Gayfield outfit.
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And he was thrilled to be able to give their faithful fans a belated Christmas gift by treating them to a moment that will go down in the club’s history.
He said: “I’ve never played outfield at this level before and that was actually my league debut believe it or not.
“At junior level I’ve gone on and scored a few as a wee bit of a muck about but I knew this wasn’t a muck about.
“I didn’t want to let the gaffer down because since he’s come in he has been brilliant with me.
“I wanted to go and do my best for him and all the fans.
“Arbroath are so well supported, especially when we are close to home in the league.
“At this time of year, coming out at Christmas, there are kids there who have maybe spent a bit of their Christmas money to buy a ticket and stuff like that.
“So I was going to give it 110 percent.
“We are fighting at the bottom and other teams are going to look at that and see that Arbroath haven’t lost the game.
“When we are getting beat it’s last minute winners and we are not getting skelpt like we were previously.
“Personally for me it’s a nice thing but ultimately it’s about the team.”
Rovers Jack Hamilton couldn’t hide his frustration at missing the chance to increase their advantage over Dundee United at the top of the Championship.
The 23-year-old said: “It was a great strike and I can’t take that away from him but it’s disappointing from us.
“We’ve had a great season so far but the last two results have not gone our way and we’ve not been up to the standards that we set at the start of the season.
“We will still try to take the positives out of the game and try to push on from there.”
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