Larne young gun Matty Lusty on why he's enjoying life at Inver Park under new boss Nathan Rooney
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National team boss Steve Clarke watched contender score screamer Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Tell us about THAT goal, big man. Kieron Bowie is going to hear that a lot over the course, hopefully, of a long and successful career. Whatever he goes on to achieve in the game, for club and country, he'll be gladly answering questions about the European glory night when he found the net in front of the Famous Five Stand at Easter Road – and very nearly caused an earthquake in the process. His best ever? Of course. The kid is still only 22, after all. Unlikely ever to be topped? Given the stakes involved and the spectacular nature of his long-distance lob/volley/thunderstruck bolt via the stratosphere, the player himself feels safe in assuming as much. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Opening up on everything from his thought process – just hit it, basically – to the agony of spending the closing minutes of extra time on the bench, not to mention his admiration for team-mate Jordan Smith's mental fortitude in a game of maddening extremes, Bowie also addressed the elephant-sized hole in the Scotland team. Steve Clarke was in attendance for last night's UEFA Conference League classic against Partizan – and must be at least considering starting the Hibs striker against Denmark and Belarus when World Cup qualifying kicks off next month. Admitting that his tendency towards audacity doesn't always pay off, the former Fulham and Raith forward referenced a less impressive effort in last weekend's 2-2 home draw with Kilmarnock as he recalled: 'I mean, obviously, I tried it against Killie, although that one was on the floor ... 'It was a bit different, but nah, it just sat up nice on the volley, and I thought I'd swing my leg. Thankfully, it swung all the way into the top corner. 'When it went in, it felt unbelievable, obviously, the whole crowd erupted, everyone was going mental on the bench, so I just ran over there, and everyone was surrounding me, and that was amazing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I don't think I've scored one better than that, and I might never score one as big again, especially given the atmosphere and the night. It's an amazing experience. 'I think their goalie was speaking to Martin Boyle after the game, asking why I shot. So that just sums it up really. Star man Bowie 'felt like an idiot' for trying a second stunner 'Honestly, I've obviously shielded two of them off, and then it's just sat up lovely, and I've just hit it. And I'll never do that again, probably. 'Yeah, I tried one right after it, too. I need to stop trying now. I felt a little bit of an idiot! Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'But nah, I feel like when the confidence is gone, you try things that you shouldn't really be doing. But then one of the times it ends up paying off, and thankfully that happened. 'When it went in, I was thinking: 'Right, what do I do?' And then everyone on the bench was celebrating, so I just went over there and just got bombarded. I think Jack (Iredale) was hitting me in the back of the head the whole time, so I probably got concussion!' Leaving aside any potential need for an HIA before training, Hibs boss David Gray will be hoping that Bowie keeps on trying the unexpected/unwise on a more regular basis. He has the ability to shift momentum, as he did after Partizan had stormed into a 2-0 lead, levelling the tie up at 2-2 on aggregate. The art of tormenting 'angry' and 'scared' defenders The No.9 also, for the second time in a week, drove the Belgrade defenders to distraction to such good effect that he forced the referee to dish out a red card. That doesn't happen by accident. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I feel like in the first leg, obviously, they tried to stay off me a little bit,' he said, adding: 'And then they get a bit angry because they're not getting the ball, and then they make silly fouls. That gives me a chance to go at them, and I feel like I thrive on that. 'They were obviously scared to try and get too tight for me, because I could just turn them. So over both legs, I feel like that was very important for us to get us up the pitch, and my part I played in that. 'I feel like they were dominating at the time. And then obviously, I scored, and then their guy got sent off a little bit after that, so it totally turned the tide of the game in our favour. 'I didn't feel like I needed to make something happen. But at half-time, Sammy (goalie coach Craig Samson) spoke to me, just telling me that there's a goal in this for me. I didn't think it would be like that.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Earning himself a reputation as a player for the grand occasion, Bowie ran himself into the ground last night. When his number came up after 113 minutes – plus injury time – of hard graft, though, he admits to feeling sick to his stomach. Well, everyone's been to a party that they never want to leave ... "The fans make it special,' he said, revealing: 'Nights like that are half the reason I came to this club, to get in Europe. 'Before the season started, we set ourselves the target of getting European group stage football. No matter whether that was Europa League or Conference League. So hopefully we can continue to have more big nights. 'I think you know at Hibs we never do things the easy way. So, I mean, obviously, Partizan scored in the last couple of seconds of the game, but then that brings out the character in us to go and win the game from there. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I mean, they score like, what, five seconds before the end of the 90? And my head's gone, and I'm like, oh no. Like, I'm just shouting into the sky. 'But we showed the character that we've had throughout. You've seen that, obviously, back to Aberdeen when we drew 3-3 here last season. The character that this squad has is unbelievable, and it's relentless, and, yeah, everyone knows that we've got character to go on and do well. 'When the final whistle went, it was just pure relief. Like, I came off five minutes before the end the extra time, and it's sickening. It's the worst feeling ever, just sat at the side watching, yeah. 'I would much rather be out there. Going back to the Midtjylland game, that was the worst ever. Like, them scoring goals like that in the extra time, me not even being on the pitch, it's sickening.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland claim staked - and keeper 'pulled out of shxx' Without actually banging doors and demanding to be put into the Scotland starting line-up, Bowie was eager to press his case when it was suggested he'd done himself no harm, saying: 'Definitely. Not even just my goal, I mean, my all-around performance. 'I feel like I'm definitely improving as my games go on, I'm just constantly trying to play as many games as I can, and I've done that. So that's six starts in a row now, and hopefully it can continue. 'I feel like I just need to try and put myself in that shop window, and hopefully I can keep doing that. I mean, as the weeks go on, I'm playing more and more games, getting into my sharpness, and yeah, I'm definitely bringing out the best in myself- and the lads are helping me do that as well. 'I feel like I'm getting there, almost fully fit now. I mean, you can see, like, in my performances, it's not as slack as what I was last season.I just need to keep ticking over, 90 minutes, 90 minutes, keep playing as much as I can, and the best will come for me.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In a game full of characters, few showed as much grit as goalkeeper Smith, who was certainly culpable for a horrible second Partizan goal – yet bounced back from the brink of a crisis in remarkable fashion, pulling off save after stunning save at crucial stages of the contest. 'I feel like that's the type of player he is,' said Bowie. ' He made a mistake. He was sort of calming himself. He could have just erupted after that and made multiple errors 'But after that, it was unbelievable. And, obviously, he needs players to pull him out, to pull him out the shxx. He needs players to help him out, and, yeah, thankful we done that tonight. 'No one said anything to him at half-time. Like, he knew himself. Do you know what I mean? He's a big lad, and he's an old lad. He knows himself that he's made an error, but, yeah, as I say, people need to help him out and pull him out the shxx.'
