BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Liam Fontaine insists he will never ever forget scoring for Hibernian in Sunday’s League Cup final – or his brutal mistake that handed Ross County the trophy.
The 30-year-old has confessed the Hampden encounter left him with both the best and worst moments of his life as Hibs crashed to a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to the Staggies.
Fontaine scorched in the equaliser for the Easter Road outfit just moments before the break and was a solid performer at the centre of the Hibs defence as they drove forward looking for a winner in the second-half.
However, the former Bristol City stopper’s mis-hit clearance as County broke up-field in the 90th minute set up Alex Schalk to cruelly end Hibs’ dreams of silverware.
Fontaine faced the media in the bowels of Hampden immediately after the match but decided to issue a statement of his own yesterday as he attempted to come to terms with a roller-coaster of a 90 minutes.
“Yesterday, I experienced one of the greatest moments and one of the lowest moments in my life,” he said through Twitter.
“The emotion I felt during both will stay with me forever.
“To play and score for a club you love in a cup final is what dreams are made of, and no-one can take that away from me.
“I made a mistake at the wrong time and, ultimately, killed my and my team-mates’ dream of lifting the cup on the day, for a club I love playing for.”
There was almost another high for Fontaine deep into injury-time but County keeper Gary Woods tipped over his acrobatic overhead kick to clinch victory for the Highlanders.
Fontaine added: “I can walk away from that game knowing I gave everything to try and win, down to the last minute, and for that reason I will keep my head up high.
“Nobody is as gutted today as myself. But all I can do, as you have to in sport, is deal with it and move on quickly.
“Thank you for the support, as always.”
