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| STERN CLAIMS WEEKEND GOAL |
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| Stern John is claiming Saints' goal at Charlton - even though he did not see it! The Saints striker admitted afterwards he had turned away thinking Darren Randolph had safely caught his looping effort. However the rookie keeper collided with defender Paddy McCarthy and spilled the ball into his own net. But like all good strikers John is claiming the goal as the shot was on target. He said on the Saints official site: "The ball came across the goal and I just tried to turn it towards the net. It was just instinct. "It was an awkward one because it hit the surface and skidded and I could not get a clean hit. I just had to try and get something on it to turn the ball towards goal. "If you do that then there is always a chance of a goal and that is what happened - although I did not see it. "I had turned away when I saw the keeper catch the ball. Next thing I looked back and Bradley Wright-Phillips was running across to celebrate. "It looked like the keeper had fumbled it but I don't know exactly what happened. "I was a bit surprised to see the ball in the net but then you need a bit of luck at times. "I am definitely claiming it though. I got the ball on target and so it is my goal. That is the striker's instinct." Although there was a large slice of fortune about the goal, John believes his side are now making their own luck and getting the rewards for their improved displays. And he reckons they now have the momentum to finish the season strongly and complete their pull clear from the drop zone. He added: "You do make your own luck to some extent and we have been playing well so that has helped to turn things around and then the ball seems to run for you that bit more. "And when you are struggling near the bottom, the breaks tend to go against you. We have been a bit unlucky in the last few weeks so we were due a bit of fortune. "When we went 1-0 up we controlled the game for much of the rest of the first half but we came out a bit flat in the second half and they came back into it. "We defended magnificently and Richard Wright kept us in the game with a fantastic save. But we all played a part, even the substitutes who came on and did well. "We are edging closer to safety and if we can get a couple more wins now we should be OK." (April, 14, 2008) |
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