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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Callum Carson

Livingston defender Ayo Obileye happy to seal spot-kick redemption following Celtic dismissal

Ayo Obileye went from spot-kick sinner to penalty winner as the defender secured all three points for Livingston away to Dundee United.

Just six weeks ago the big centre-back’s act of petulance almost cost his team a point at Celtic Park.

On Saturday, his calmness under pressure earned his team a second consecutive win as he slotted home a 66th minute penalty for the only goal of the game at Tannadice.

The Englishman’s petty slap on Kyogo Furuhashi in the closing stages against Celtic earned him a two-game ban and disciplinary action from the club.

Thankfully for him, keeper Max Stryjek rescued the draw as he saved the spot-kick from Giorgios Giakoumakis.

Obileye says that incident was out of character. Given the nerves of steel needed to produce a Jorginho-style run-up to the penalty before rolling home his first league goal of the campaign, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

He admits he’s learned from the Celtic Park incident, saying: “It was a blur and out of character but it’s behind me now. After it happened I walked off the pitch and got to the tunnel and I realised that it was a penalty so I turned back to look and they missed.

“I had to thank God and thank Max. If that had gone in it would have been hell for me. It was still hell for me but it would have been a different type of hell.

“Things do turn very quickly. When you’re high you have to stay humble and keep working and when you’re low you have to work even harder.

“It’s been a big lesson for me. I’ve really learned. It took me out of the side and it’s made me look like a bad person, which is not who I am.

“It’s made me come out the team, lose a bit of match fitness, although I’ve been doing extra fitness work to stay on top. Unluckily for Tom Parkes he got injured in the last game and that’s why I’m back in.

“If he didn’t get injured we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

A casual, stuttering run-up - without even looking at the ball - might not be what you’d normally expect from a 6ft 4in defender but it works.

Which is exactly why the former Queen of the South man isn’t about to change it.

He said: “It takes a lot of nerve to take a penalty like that because if you miss those kind of penalties the world is going to come at you.

“I’ve been doing it a while and I scored a few last season and the season before that.

“I saw it one time. I can’t remember what player it was but I just thought I would try it in a game and if I scored I would keep going. I haven’t stopped yet.

“I don’t want to give away my secrets but it’s a risk you’ve got to take. If you send the keeper the wrong way that’s the best thing you can do.

“I’ve not missed any that I’ve taken like that. I’ve got a 100 per cent record, I won’t change it.”

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