Greatest Own Goals of All-Time No.15
Former Ipswich Town defender Eddie Youds is the unfortunate man to feature in this week’s ‘Greatest Own Goals of All-Time’ with his calamitous error against Arsenal on 5th March 1994.
Ian Wright grabbed the headlines with fantastic hat-trick but the Portman Road crowd were also treated to two fantastic own goals.
Youds put through his own net with 24 minutes gone. Ian Wright had already given Arsenal the lead six minutes earlier before Youds left his mark on the game.
In typical Arsenal fashion of the time, David Seaman punted a long ball downfield. Alan Smith nodded the ball on to Ian Wright, who rather fortuitously flicked the ball on for Anders Limpar after the ball bounced awkwardly off his heel.
Limpar chased the ball and outmuscled Ipswich’s veteran defender John Wark off the ball before hitting the ball from a narrow across Keith Baker in the Ipswich goal.
Whether Limpar intended to shoot is unclear, but Eddie Youds chased in to hoof the ball away from the Ipswich goalmouth with Ian Wright breathing down his neck.
The ball bobbled across the muddy six yard box and Youds tried to clear with his left foot. It rolled slightly behind his foot, hit his heel before hitting the shin of his trailing leg and rolled pathetically over the line. Youds landed flat on his stomach and instictively stuck out an arm trying to prevent a goal, but he even failed to that and the ball slowly reached the back of the net.
Arsenal went on to win the game 5-1, with Ipswich’s consolation goal coming from Arsenal’s Lee Dixon. That own goal will feature in this series in time as it too was a peach of a goal!
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