The 26-year-old defender, released by Coventry at age 12, revealed it was a special feeling and made even sweeter having ended the hosts’ winless run in League One.
He said: "Being a Coventry fan, I'm sure my friends won't be happy but I had a job to do today. I was 11 or 12 at the time and told I wasn't good enough. To go the hard route up to Scotland – living there, coming back down – and to do that today, it means everything to me, my friends and family. Definitely the best feeling of my career."
They had failed to win since late October and although he admitted the Sky Blues deserved all three points, it didn’t stop them from fighting back in dramatic style.
He continued, saying: “I felt we didn’t actually really play well, they deserved the three points. They were a lot better on the ball, produced more chances but we dug in until the end."
The victory sees them leapfrog Coventry into 10th place, where they’re now just five points off the playoff places heading of a tricky Christmas schedule. After Nicky Devlin was hauled down, the captain was brave in stepping up to take the spot-kick, knowing that crucial moment meant more to him than most.
"I've stepped back from penalty training, having missed one against Macclesfield. But after scoring and it's the last minute to win the game, I didn't care if anyone else wanted it. I’m sure that’s the fastest I’ve run but importantly, I was confident that I would score,” he revealed.
It was a frenetic finale at Banks’s Stadium, emphasised as some of his Coventry-supporting friends celebrated his match-winner with an unexpected pitch invasion.
"I told them before, don't run onto the pitch because I know what happened against them last year. One of them didn't listen and ran on but as soon as I saw him, I knew I had to run to him. It was a moment we'll all cherish for the rest of our lives."
With an eye on their FA Cup replay against Sunderland to come on Tuesday night, Leahy praised his side's resilience.
He finished, saying: "This result shows the manager and our fans that we never give up. Barnsley, Bristol Rovers and in other games, we've shown this and that can only stand us in good stead for the rest of the season because we don't know when we're beaten."