In the maroon of Heart of Midlothian Lawrence Shankland is inevitable. Goals nine and 10 of the season took him onto 38 in just 66 appearances since joining the club last summer.
The brace ensured Hearts would defeat Motherwell 2-1 at Fir Park and move into fourth place in the Scottish Premiership. It got better on Monday as the striker was called into the Scotland national team.
The two goals were very different in their execution but were similar in that they demonstrated excellent striker instinct. The first was pure improvisation even if Shankland himself did the backheel volleyed finish from Frankie Kent's knock down a disservice with the simplicity of how he described it.
"Frankie’s just headed it down and I just managed to get a flick on it, sneak it in by the post," he said.
READ MORE: Lopsided attack, Lowry impact and game management: How Hearts beat Motherwell
The second, however, required a lot more decision making after a through ball from Beni Baningime. But at the same time he demonstrated that instinct to get into the right area and make the right decision.
"The second one is a good ball from Beni but I’ve got 25 yards to run at the goal and you think do I chip him, go round him but thankfully enough I managed to go round him and beat the guy that was running back as well," Shankland explained.
Baningime attempted a pass to Shankland in the centre of the pitch but the striker wasn't reading it. Seeing Calum Butcher come into view he backed off. It was a smart decision as he then notices a gaping whole in the Motherwell defence. When the ball goes back to Baningime, the Hearts No.9 only has one thing on his mind.
If there is one particular moment which stands out from the sequence of the goal, from the pass to the finish, it is Shankland's first touch. It could not have been any better. He could have easily allowed it to go across his body but that would have taken him slightly away from the centre and onto the left foot. Instead he runs onto the pass and pushes it out of his feet, taking Shane Blaney defender out of the game.
The excellent touch in front gives Shankland three options. Does he go over, does he go round or does he shoot low past Liam Kelly. For the striker it was a "split-second decision".
"I think how quick he was coming out, I had quite a lot of space to play with so I managed to just knock it to his left, but he was quite quick off his line to be fair, but thankfully I managed to get round," Shankland explained.
From the image below, it looks like a straightforward finish. Just roll the ball into the empty net. However, Dan Casey has made up ground really well.
Shankland was aware of the Well defender.
"I knew he was going to be sprinting back, it was so slippy out there so I knew I had to play it behind me so I just delayed it," he said. "I could see him in my eye level. Thankfully enough he gambled on me shooting."
The goal may have been straightforward and perhaps it was for someone of Shankland's calibre. But it demonstrates the moving parts, what is going through the striker's mind and how a quality striker operates, from sensing space, to the vital first touch and then the awareness when through on goal.
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