St Johnstone striker Guy Melamed was determined to show he had "no hard feelings" after his Betfred Cup final disappointment.
The Israeli spent Sunday's 1-0 victory over Livingston at Hampden on the bench despite netting two goals against Motherwell the previous weekend, including a brilliant 25-yard strike.
He was back in the team on Wednesday and forced a series of excellent stops from Hamilton goalkeeper Ryan Fulton before netting a late equaliser in some style.
Melamed took down a long ball over the top and instantly steered it past Fulton to earn a 1-1 draw in a move which his club Twitter account quite rightly likened to a famous Dennis Bergkamp goal for Holland.
🤯 | B̶e̶r̶g̶k̶a̶m̶p̶ Melamed pic.twitter.com/TlUK8LC0WW — St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) March 4, 2021
The 28-year-old said: "Obviously I had mixed emotions because every player wants to play, especially in the final. But I respect the coach. If he decides I need to be on the bench, then I respect that.
"I came into Wednesday with no hard feelings and gave everything. The main thing was we won the cup. Yes, of course, I didn't feel so good but this is football and I need to accept that."
Melamed's goal was a potential boost for St Johnstone's slim top-six hopes. They are five points behind sixth-placed St Mirren, who face Rangers on Saturday, and Callum Davidson's side must beat Hibernian to keep their aims alive.
86' | ACCIES 1-1 SAINTS Wow 😍 A long ball played over the top by Liam Gordon finds Guy Melamed who incredibly brings the ball down with one touch before firing it past Fulton with the next. Absolutely sublime.#SJFCLive https://t.co/WQvdUq296h — St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) March 3, 2021
"I'm happy to score. I can score all kinds of goals: outside the box, inside, with the head, with the left, with the right," he said.
"But we are really disappointed we didn't win, we wanted a bigger chance to get to the top six.
"But we will fight until the last minute. We have Hibs on Saturday and it will be all in for us."
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