Inverness Caley Thistle hat-trick hero Keith Bray credits club’s leading goalscorer Billy Mckay with devising corner routine that broke deadlock at Cove Rangers
Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s hat-trick hero Keith Bray has credited Billy Mckay with masterminding the set-piece routine that opened the scoring against Cove Rangers.
The 19-year-old has often been a threat in the air for the Caley Jags this season, and headed in his first at Balmoral Park after connecting with an Alfie Stewart corner kick.
It was the same partnership that led to the second and third goals, with Stewart slipping Bray through into dangerous areas, but the academy graduate revealed it was the club’s all-time leading scorer who came up with the corner routine for the opener.
“We actually changed it up a bit this time, I had a different role coming off the keeper right around the front, and I managed to get a flick on it,” Bray told the club’s media channel.
“It was Billy’s idea, but it all came from the ball in from Alfie. He got three assists, so it was a pretty good day for him as well.
“It’s a dream to get the hat-trick. You always think before a game how it would feel to get a hat-trick, probably a bit naively sometimes, but I’ve managed to do it.
“It’s a great feeling personally, but the main thing is getting the three points for the team.”
Manager Scott Kellacher was pleased with the team’s reaction to their one-sided defeat away at Queen of the South seven days earlier.
He also credited Bray and Stewart with being leading examples to other young players of what can happen when presented with an opportunity.
“I’ve said it before, they are a young group of boys who are learning as they go along, so we are going to have setbacks but the way they responded and worked hard today, I’m over the moon for them.
“It probably was one of our best performances of the season, because we’ve had some really hard games against Cove.
“Keith is a handful. The way he plays the game, he’s a bit of a free spirit at times.
“He has got his move away, but his attitude every single day has been excellent, and his goals were brilliant. He gives you everything he’s got, and you can’t ask for much more than that.
“Alfie has been a breath of fresh air too, he is a really good footballer.
“It’s important that the boys who get a chance take it. We’re a young side, and we really need to help them grow – with a bit more confidence and experience, that will come.
“I’m really pleased for everybody, because last week was hard going, but they put the work in and got their just rewards.”
Both Kellacher and Bray also made sure to praise the club’s supporters for their efforts in following the team throughout a trying season, with the teenager adding: “The fans have been brilliant all season long.
“They have been following us wherever we have been, and I know that they will continue doing that.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without them, that’s for sure, so I have to say a big thank you to the fans.”