Lochlin Highet swapped the press box for the penalty box as he answered Irvine Victoria's eleventh hour SOS call for a goalkeeper.
The 24-year-old normally spends his weekends writing about Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock, or covering games in the West of Scotland League, for the Kilmarnock Standard and Ayrshire Live.
But on Saturday he put down his notepad and pen and donned the goalie gloves to make his senior debut for Vics in their Third Division clash with Lugar Boswell Thistle.
And it proved to be a day to remember for Highet as he kept a clean sheet in the Westenders' 6-0 romp at Victoria Park – a result which moved Dougie MacDuff's side to within a point of top spot.
He told Ayrshire Football News: "It doesn't get much better than that. The guys were fantastic and I didn't really have much to deal with which is all you can ask for as a goalkeeper. I just want to thank Dougie for the chance.
"Last season, I played for Craigie United who are a Kilmarnock amateur team taking a year out as it stands. I played a few friendlies with an Irvine amateur team in the summer but that was my first competitive game of the season."
Highet proved his worth during the first half by making two good saves to deny Lugar's Craig Connell. He was in charge of his area and didn't put a foot wrong before having a much quieter second stanza.
He said: "It's the first game I've played at this level and when you make a couple of good saves, it just breeds a bit of confidence.
"Dougie was very thankful but he pulled me in and made sure that I knew the magnitude of the game. He told me in no uncertain terms!"
Kevin Adam's hat-trick inspired Vics to success with Alessandro Savarese, Franny Kilpatrick and substitute Gerard Clark also getting on the scoresheet to complete the rout.
Most folk will know Highet as being a Kilmarnock fan and the man covering the Rugby Park club for the local paper – so will he be in the ear of manager Derek McInnes and asking for a crack at challenging Zach Hemming and Sam Walker?
"I could probably do a shift at training at least," Highet joked. "I think that would be fair enough!"
Grateful Vics boss MacDuff added: "He has never played at this level before and he had a couple of fantastic saves.
"I asked him to come in the other day and he accepted the challenge without any hesitation. It was very much appreciated and it's absolutely fantastic for the boy."
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