| With Stranraer attacking and the score 2-2, ‘Stevo’, deep inside his own half, produced the pass of the match, a raking 40-yard effort, to release player-boss Owen Coyle.
He, in turn, fed Jason Scotland whose shot, although only half-hit, trundled home after striking a post.
It completed the Trinidad and Tobago star’s first hat-trick since his days with Defence Force in his homeland and, although he was the Man of the Match, he was one of several star performers in a Saints side which dug deep to win against their equally attack-minded and entertaining visitors.
After the match, Ryan revealed, “For the winning goal, I saw Owen making a run and I fired the ball into the area he was running into.
“He passed to Jason and he did the rest.”
Injuries to Goran Stanic and Steven Anderson meant Ryan and Stevie Milne were introduced to the action with less than half-an-hour gone and both substitutes made their mark, Ryan setting up Saints’ winning goal and Stevie setting up their second.
“When you come on during a game, it takes 10-15 minutes to get into things,” Ryan said. “It can take you that long to get used to the pace of the game and, when they equalised to make it 2-2, I thought ‘That’s it, the season’s gone.
“Then I looked up at one of the ground’s electronic scoreboards and saw Hamilton were 1-0 up at St Mirren.
“And the fans were buzzing because they knew St Mirren were losing.
“We went on to get the winner, then came news that St Mirren had lost another goal.
“We haven’t lost in the league this year and are on a great run in what has turned out to be a great season which will, hopefully, get even better.” |
