Alex Gogic hailed teenage goalkeeper Grant Tamosevicius for a "special" St Mirren debut in Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic.
The 17-year-old was a first-half replacement for Ryan Mullen, who was standing in for Shamal George before picking up an injury of his own in the 6-2 loss.
Gogic criticised the “disgraceful” and “disgusting” abuse Mullen, who made an error for Daizen Maeda’s opener, received from his own fans.
And the 32-year-old defender praised young Tamosevicius for the way he dealt with being thrown into the intense Hampden occasion.
St Mirren fought back from two down to take the contest beyond the 90 minutes, but the Paisley side could not prevent a four-goal blitz from Celtic early in extra time.
"For Grant it was a special moment," Gogic said. "I just told him when he comes in, just enjoy every second, because you never know if you will ever come back.
"I just told him, if you have nerves, just relax, enjoy every second, it doesn't matter if you make a mistake, just enjoy every second of it, because you never know.
"I'm 32 and you don't come here often, so I said enjoy it, take it in and enjoy every moment.
"It's special, the boys were over at him and especially the fans, and he did brilliant, some good saves."
