"To be honest, I don't care who's taking credit for the goal. At the end of the day, we won," declared Mitch Duke with the most noble air.
Then after a pause, he had to grin: "Now do you want my real answer..."
Of course, everyone had taken his original declaration with a pinch of salt.
Because for both Duke and Harry Souttar, their good-natured, post-match bickering about who scored the opener in Tuesday's 2-0 Soccer Ashes triumph in London couldn't actually disguise just how badly they both wanted to be credited with that goal.
Originally, it had been awarded to Souttar, as Duke's lashed finish evidently seemed to be deflected off the big defender's chest and into the net.
But after the game, the referee's report attributed the goal to Duke - and as any self-respecting striker would, he quite agreed.
But before he had emerged from the changing rooms, big Harry was already having his say.
Asked by reporters if it was his goal, Souttar smiled: "Absolutely it was.
"I've just heard the ref's put it down on the official sheet as Mitchell Duke's goal. I tried to find the referee - but I think he's left because I think if you watch the replay, it's clearly hit my chest and gone in.
"But I'll be claiming it anyway!
"Whenever I can get on the scoresheet, I'll take it. Dukey wasn't very happy, that's for sure. I think we'll be debating that one for quite a while until it gets resolved - but I'm just going to plead my case."
Informed that most observers in the press box felt it was Duke's goal, Souttar still wasn't about to back down.
"Yeah, well, I mean from a distance it probably looks like his goal but if you watch the replay really carefully and the trajectory of the ball, it moves when it hits off my chest and goes in," he added.
"Certainly probably the flukiest goal I've scored."
When Duke emerged to talk to the media, Souttar couldn't help winding him up.
"I've just heard that they've put it down as your goal on the matchsheet - but they were all agreeing with me it's my goal," he said, pointing at reporters.
To which Duke could only respond incredulously: "Aw, how can you be claiming that as your goal?!... I feel like I definitely deserve to get it."
They ended up cheerily agreeing to differ. "It is what it is and we won the game," shrugged Duke, who may well secretly have been very relieved that he now officially has 10 international goals to Souttar's seven - because 9-8 against a centre-half might have been too close for comfort for any centre forward to take.
"Honestly, we banter about it - but, genuinely, it doesn't matter really, who scored the goal."
Of course we believe you, Mitch...
