Motherwell star Kevin van Veen: I changed my mind for penalty winner

Kevin van Veen broke St Mirren's hearts with a penalty winner in Sunday's 1-0 win in Paisley, and admitted he changed his mind at the last second.

It looked like calmness personified, but the Dutch striker saw keeper Trevor Carson going early, and instead struck the penalty into the bottom right corner.

And van Veen admits the win was huge for Motherwell, following a week of turmoil, starting on Thursday with their dismal Europa Conference League second qualifying round exit at the hands of Sligo Rovers.

Manager Graham Alexander and assistant Chris Lucketti left by mutual consent on Friday, with Academy director Stevie Hammell answering the club's SOS to take caretaker charge, alongside under-18 coach Brian Kerr.

Van Veen says they restored a lot of belief in the players, which then transferred onto the pitch to give them a positive result.

But while he scored the penalty, van Veen reckons keeper Liam Kelly was every bit as much the hero, with a string of stunning saves.

"I always like to say I’m confident in those moments,” he said with a grin.

“I saw him [Trevor Carson] going early and put it the other side, because I was going left but changed my mind last second.

“It was important for my team to put that away, because it gave them a boost and belief.

“But I have to say Liam Kelly was unbelievable today, again.

“It’s unreal to have someone to fall back on like him.

“I think we need to give a lot of credit to our keeper. I might be scoring the winner, but for me Liam Kelly has got us the three points.

“We need to be grateful that he’s on our team, but everybody worked very hard for each other and I think we deserved the win."

Van Veen says the impact Hammell and Kerr made was huge after a difficult few days.

He said: