Exclusive: Cammy Devlin's joy at first Hearts goal and why he wanted to jump in with fans

That summed up a few precious seconds for Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin at St Mirren on Saturday. It’s fair to say a first goal in maroon will live long in the memory for the Australian, plus the ecstatic Jambos who spilled on to the track in celebration.

After scoring the second in an important 2-0 win, Devlin managed to resist temptations to jump the advertising boardings and join in the mayhem. It required admirable restraint for an emotional guy who previously hadn’t scored for almost a year. The fact he was already on a yellow card prevented him going completely daft.

The buzz is still there, however, and Devlin will ride the wave of euphoria for a day or two yet. “There was a bit of a scrap in the middle of the park and Beni [Baningime] was running with the ball,” recalled Devlin, speaking exclusively to the Evening News.

“He found a great pass to Ellis [Simms] and his shot came back to me while their keeper was on the ground. I just had to lift it a little bit and when I saw it hit the back of the net it was such a relief.

“I’m so happy but maybe that’s why I scored – because their keeper was down.” The cheeky grin and self-effacing remark are endearing features of a conversation with the 23-year-old. Then he explains what he really wanted to do after planting ball in net and sprinting towards the travelling fans.

“I was going to jump over with them. I loved it,” he admitted, another smile etched across his face. “My mind was going nuts when I scored, I wasn’t thinking too straight. I couldn’t really hear much, just a whole lot of noise. I was absolutely buzzing.

“It’s such an amazing feeling for any player. Some strikers score 20-odd goals a season but just scoring a goal is the best feeling in the world. To do