Buckie Thistle striker Josh Peters speaks about the big chance that got away against Celtic and how he swapped shirts with cousin Stephen Welsh after the Scottish Cup clash
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Josh Peters dreamed of scoring for Buckie Thistle at Celtic Park and came so close to creating an unforgettable moment for his family.
The Jags striker was stunned when he found himself clean through on goal with just Celtic keeper Joe Hart to beat - and he was denied by the slimmest of margins.
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Seconds later Celtic swept right up the pitch to score their third goal in a 5-0 victory for the holders.
Peters regrets not scoring the biggest goal of his life but was thrilled to see his cousin, Celtic defender Stephen Welsh come on as a late sub for the home side - sadly when Peters had already been subbed himself.
The striker recalled his chance five minutes before half time.
"I was thinking about a million different things," he said. "I thought I was under more pressure than I was, so I’ve been told.
"I think it did catch me off guard how easily I got in behind. When you are playing at that level you need to put away your chances, you’re not going to get many.
"To be fair I got contact on it and Joe Hart saved it. On another day it could have scuffed under his foot but it didn’t."
Peters also had a claim for a penalty in the second half which was looked at by the VAR officials, but the verdict was no spot kick.
"It probably wasn’t a penalty but I’ve heard from other people it might have been. I thought it was a bit of both to be fair, six and half a dozen as we were pulling each other shirts.
"It was a good battle between myself and Liam Scales. I was playing a bit deeper than normal which is to be expected.
"It was a great experience to play against players of that calibre and everyone did themselves proud."
The Jags' player revealed how he chose his cousin to swap jerseys with at the end, and how he hopes Welsh will cherish receiving a Buckie shirt.
"I thought it was the right thing to do. I asked for his, I don’t think his mum and dad would have been proud if I bypassed him and asked for someone else’s.
"I gave him mine as well, whether it's in the bin or not I don’t know.
"Our families were on both sides of the crowd today, it was a huge day for them and we saw them at the end and I’ll catch up with Stephen later on as well.
"It was good to see him back because he’s out for a while injury wise and it’s good to see him get back in contention.
"We will have a couple of drinks. I did see him after the game when we swapped shirts and Celtic were kind enough to let us in the changing room and a lot of the boys got photos.
"It’s a big thing especially some of the boys in our team who are big Celtic fans. There’s some big names in that dressing room as well so it’s a one-off, it probably won’t happen again for a lot of folk.
"He probably thought he wasn’t going to get on so I’m glad that he did, and it was good to see him on the pitch.
"Of course it would have been nice to play at the same time as him, I would have been directly up against him but it’s still a great experience for myself and hopefully I get to do it again."
Peters also paid tribute to the large Jags contingent in a crowd of over 40,000 inside Celtic Park.
"The fans were brilliant, they didn’t stop from minute one and definitely added to the atmosphere.
"The noise that came from them was brilliant and that’s what you want to see. Fans travelling the length of the country for a game of football, it’s amazing and credit to them because it’s not easy making that journey.
"A lot of our fans are family members and support us at most games so it was a proud day for them as well as us."
