James Wilson's sensational 30-yard strike against Rapid Vienna has given Hearts a fighting chance of making the £5m league phase in the Conference League, with the tie poised at 2-2 ahead of Wednesday's all-or-nothing second leg in Austria.
The 19-year-old substitute's wonder goal edged the Jambos ahead at Tynecastle on Thursday, blowing the roof off the stadium and reducing his mother to tears in the Main Stand. It was his 10th goal for his boyhood club and the strike was all over social media.
Wilson's 'f*** it' moment
Having opened his account for the season last Sunday with a poacher's goal from half a yard against Inverness, Wilson joked to the media afterwards: "I honestly don't score any good goals here." Four days later, and only seven minutes of action later, he produced what he calls his 'f*** it' moment.
Asked if it was always on his mind to 'leather it' when he looked up 30 yards from goal, Wilson said: "Yeah, that was it. I don't know how to use other words - but it was just like a turn and 'f*** it' moment.
"I mean, as a striker, you're going to have to take some shots at some point, and I thought the chance just opened up at the time. I had nothing to lose. It worked out well, didn't it?
"Obviously, if there's a crying-out option to slip someone through, then I'm going to choose that every day of the week. But from that position, at that point, I looked up, the keeper was a little bit off his line, that's how it felt at the time.
"I've watched it back and he's maybe a little bit further back than I thought he was, but it was just one of those moments, like, 'just shoot'. What's the worst that's going to happen if I don't shoot?"
Best goal of his career
Wilson added: "I always think that if the ball breaks that quickly from our goal kick, their keeper is naturally going to be a bit higher. So it's one of those moments.
"Me and Calvin Miller were talking about it. Those ones when you always take a look just to see where the keeper is before the goal kick's even taken, just if something drops quickly, and then 'bang'. I had an idea, but it was just to turn and hit it."
Asked if it was the best goal he has scored, he said: "One hundred per cent. There's not even anything close. You've seen my goals here! My mates always joke that I never celebrate a goal. It's always one hand lifted up.
"I thought that one maybe I deserved to slide or something. I don't know what I did - my body just took over at that point. I was just wheeling away.
"It was incredible. Mum and dad were in the stands and the boys said my mum had tears. I think that's more that she just doesn't like the atmosphere! That's true."
From record breaker to loan spell
Wilson is no stranger to making goalscoring headlines in the Conference League. Two seasons ago he became the youngest ever scorer in the competition's history - and remains Hearts' youngest European scorer - with a neat first time finish in an otherwise forgettable 2-2 Tynecastle draw with Petrocub. He was just 17 years and 288 days old.
But having made 33 appearances that season, while still finishing his school studies, the teen fell down the pecking order last year under Derek McInnes with just six league appearances and five of those off the bench before moving for a loan spell with Spurs U21s in January.
Now he's back in Gorgie - and desperate to nail down a first team spot. He said: "That last Conference league campaign was a period where it was kind of all taking off. Obviously, last year I never played so much, but I feel I was a better player for it.
"I've learned more. I've got bigger. Just this year, could I do the same again and sustain that? That's the aim, really. Just try and play as many minutes, play as many minutes, score as many goals.
"Hopefully I've given the manager something to think about. That's always the aim when you come off the bench. Can you do enough to give him a headache, to try and make an impression?
"I'm just going to keep working on it. We've got this weekend off, the next game's away, so we're just going to build towards that."
Level pegging ahead of second leg
Wilson admits his super strike would have been even sweeter had it turned out to be the winner. But Nikolaus Wurmbrand's 79th minute goal means it's level pegging going into the second leg in the Allianz Stadion.
Confidence is building in the Jambos ranks after four games unbeaten though. And with Wouter Vrancken's front-foot gameplay starting to take effect, Wilson reckons the tie is very much alive.
He said: "Yeah. I was a bit disappointed, but we've given ourselves something to go for going into the second leg. It's always important. You need to be in the game going into the second leg. That's what we've done.
"On the whole, it's a pretty good performance against a good side. You've watched our games so far. It looks entertaining. I hope that's what it looks like because we feel that.
"We want to score goals. Obviously, you never want to concede goals. At some point, you've got to play some risk. We do that. We go forward. We commit bodies to the box. We just hope that we can score more than they can on Wednesday."
