Iconic Moments in Football No.40
This week’s Iconic Moment comes from Coventry City vs Newcastle United on 8th November 1997.
Only four minutes of the game had passed when Coventry’s striker Dion Dublin embarrassed United’s goalkeeper Shay Given to score one of the strangest goals in Premier League history.
Coventry’s Gary McAllister whipped in a high looping cross to the far post. His team-mate Dion Dublin made a run for the far post but Given stretched backwards, catching the ball with both hands.
Momentum caused Dublin to carry his run off the pitch and he stopped a just short of the advertising hoards at the front of the stand behind the goal.
What happened next is still talked about to this day. Dublin began to slowly amble towards the pitch and Given was completely unaware that the Coventry front man was behind him.
The Irishman threw the ball out a few yards in front of him so that he could kick the ball upfield. Dublin saw his opportunity and rushed around Given’s right hand side and prodded the ball into the empty net!
The goal was allowed and the game finished 2-2. After the game, Shay Given laughed the incident off, saying that he was the only Irishman not to know where Dublin was!
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