George Harmon hopes Ross County can build strength from their narrow relegation escape.
The Staggies looked to be destined for the second-tier when they found themselves 3-0 down to Partick Thistle with only 19 minutes of their Premiership play-off final remaining.
A remarkable comeback took the tie to extra-time, before Malky Mackay’s men triumphed on penalties.
English left back Harmon netted the equalising goal in the 91st minute, before slotting home a spot-kick during the shoot-out.
It caps a successful debut season in Scotland for the 22-year-old, who joined from English non-league side Oxford City last summer.
After being forced to dig deep to keep the Staggies in the league, Harmon reckons he can only learn from the experience.
He said: “As a team we can enjoy this moment but looking back at the season we shouldn’t have been in this position with the quality we have.
“Next season we need to get momentum and kick on up the league.
“Will we be stronger after this? I think so.
“We had a big summer last year with a lot of players coming in.
“Now we have a year’s experience and this was my first year as a pro. I can learn from that and move on to next year.”
Harmon knew Staggies had fightback in them
Despite County being in a precarious position for much of the play-off tie, Harmon insists his side never lost belief in their cause.
Harmon added: “We were in this position for a reason.
“A lot of people wrote us off after the Hearts game and then going into the split.
“Even after last Thursday, outside our dressing room people thought it was over.
“But we knew we had enough quality and belief that we could turn it around.
“With 20 minutes left, to get it to extra time showed how special the group we have are.
“At no point did we think the tie was over. I don’t know if Partick got carried away a bit at 3-0.
“On Thursday we said that 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline.
“We had the character and spirit to turn it around and the quality.”
Defender pleased to chip in at vital moments
Harmon’s strike against Thistle was his third of the season, having broken into the team in October when fellow left back Ben Purrington suffered a long-term ankle injury.
The former West Bromwich Albion youngster was pleased he was able to hold his nerve during the shoot-out – given Thistle would have won the tie had he missed his spot-kick.
He added: “I have been getting into good positions all season but not scored as many as I would like.
“The manager told me I had to remain calm and then execute the shot. I was delighted to see it hitting the net.
“That was my first professional penalty, so I think that naivety of not having that experience probably helped.
“I picked my spot and thankfully I slotted it away.
“When I saw it going on I was relieved to be honest. Jack Baldwin had missed so the pressure was ramped up on me.
“I didn’t realise what it meant at the time to be honest.
“The goalkeepers had told us what they like and don’t like when facing a penalty so I took that on board.
“All you have to do is beat the keeper and it doesn’t matter how it goes in.
“I would take another one, hopefully not in the play-offs.”
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