You only have to watch Ed McGinty play the game to know he's not a man easily fazed.
The 26-year-old Scot has a quality all top goalkeepers require: a good temperament. Aligned to his outstanding shot-stopping abilities, it makes for a potent combination.
As Shamrock Rovers were inching towards the goalless draw they needed to beat Santa Clara on aggregate and reach the league stage of the Conference League, McGinty was called into action.
Vinicius Lopes' 70th-minute half volley looked in; it travelled so sweetly and with such pace that the volume inside Tallaght Stadium dropped as the crowd waited to hear the net ripple. Instead, McGinty arced his body, sprung backwards and somehow clawed the ball over his own crossbar.
"Save of the season," Hoops boss Stephen Bradley said afterwards. "I don't think you'll see better than that."
There was no danger McGinty was indulging in such talk however. Instead, he went full Roy Keane.
"Ah yeah look it's part of my job," he shrugged. "I’m here to make saves. It’s a big team performance over the two legs from the lads.
"The gaffer's brilliant with me, he talks me through things. Sometimes you need to just calm things down. I think there were a couple I tried to clip to Dan Cleary and it just wasn’t on. We just needed to trust what we do and play it out and keep doing it. That’s what we done."
On the finer details of the save itself, McGinty remained deprecatingly vague.
"I don't really know to be honest. I trust my instincts and in fairness Pico (Lopes) does well, blocks the first runner, and then Danny Grant does well to hold him off. He just kind of snaps it over the way you wouldn’t expect it go, I was kind of leaning to the left. But look, you’re meant to make saves."
McGinty even admitted he didn't consider it to be the best save of his career. That honour goes to a super stop he produced in the colours of Sligo Rovers against Dundalk in October 2020, when he pawed away Brian Gartland's header.
"We played Dundalk away with Sligo, I think it was 2020, 2021. It was the last game of the season, and we won and got Europe. In that game I had my best save.
"You're kind of always in the game, you’re always talking and always making sure the defence is in the right position and giving information to Pico, Lee (Grace) and Dan (Cleary). I try and stay involved in the game as much as I can.
"They were very good, very quick, great individuals, moved the ball really well over the two legs. It's a great result to get past them."
McGinty also had warm words for Josh Bradley, son of boss Stephen, who finished his cancer treatment last week. Father and son celebrated last night's result together with the squad and the supporters as a joyous ten days reached the perfect climax.
"He means everything (to the squad)," said McGinty. "He comes in and does training with us, he's a great lad. We were just all so delighted to hear the news about Josh and for the gaffer and for the family.
"To see the end there, to see him celebrating with his dad in front of the South Stand, it was probably the best moment of the night for me personally."
