As I was putting the ball down and stepped back I changed my mind - you shouldn't change your mind!
Craig Mackail-Smith
Quotes of the week
Craig Mackail-Smith spoke of his penalty pain against Leeds and revealed a secret talent on Soccer AM.
The Brighton striker bagged two in the Seagulls' Sky Live clash with Leeds United on Friday night but missed a golden opportunity to end the South Coast club's six game run without a win from 12 yards.
Mackail-Smith, who had scored from the spot in the first-half, said: "I decided which way to go, I should have gone straight back down the middle again, but I changed my mind.
"I thought I hit it really well but looked up and saw the keeper put his hat on it. As I was putting the ball down and stepped back I changed my mind - you shouldn't change your mind!
"I was dreaming about it last night, seeing it going in. But we've got a game on Tuesday so I need to get it out of my mind."
However, that spot-kick aside, Mackail-Smith has enjoyed a good season for Brighton so far this term, netting eight league goals for the club and assistant boss Charlie Oatway, who was also on the show, said they will end their recent slump soon.
"We don't have to worry ourselves," he said. "We just have to keep on doing what we're doing.
"If the game last night against Leeds was a boxing match it would have been stopped. We were magnificent and played really well."
[h=4]Pole Vault[/h]Whilst on the show Mackail-Smith also revealed a hidden talent - the Seagulls striker was once the seventh best pole vaulter in Britain!
"That was one of my many talents," laughed Mackail-Smith.
"At school they had a session out on the field and as a kid it looked like fun, running up and throwing yourself onto a mat with a pole.
"It was good fun but I got better and better at it and ended up doing it for my county."
However, Mackail-Smith said when the time came to make a choice between athletics and football, his choice was simple.
"I had a back injury doing pole vault and I had to decide whether to carry that on and push through the injury or do football," he said.
"I loved football so much there was only going to be one winner."
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