Last-minute goal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game. The term may not necessarily refer to a goal scored in the actual last minute (last minute goal). In football, the definition of a last-minute goal commonly used is one scored in the final or penultimate minute of normal or extra time or in stoppage time at the end of a match. It should be noted the "golden goal" briefly used to decide extra time in some tournaments is not considered a last minute goal unless meeting the above criteria. Penalties scored in a shootout are never considered last minute goals.
Last minute goals have decided the outcome of several important football leagues and trophies, including the UEFA Champions League, English Football League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.
Contents |
[edit] Notable last-minute goals
This list is not comprehensive, including notable goals from higher levels of national or international football.
[edit] Continental Cup Competition
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1994-95 Final. In the final minute of extra time (timed at 119:16), with the match heading to penalties, a shot from the halfway line by Nayim for Real Zaragoza cleared Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, winning the cup for Zaragoza.
- 1999 Champions League Final arguably the most famous example, where Manchester United scored two last-minute goals against Bayern Munich. Bayern led 1-0 going into injury time, but goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær turned the game on its head and won the European Cup and the Treble for United. The goals were timed at 90:36 and 92:17 and came so late that the trophy already had Bayern ribbons attached to it.
[edit] Domestic Cup
- 2006 FA Cup Final: With West Ham United leading 3-2 going into injury time, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard scored what proved to be the Goal of the Season with a strike from thirty yards and timed at 90:08. Liverpool went on to win the match on penalties.
[edit] Domestic League
- Liverpool vs. Arsenal, May 26, 1989: Michael Thomas's goal – the final goal, in the final minute of the final game of the season – to win Arsenal the First Division title. Arsenal had to beat championship rivals Liverpool by two clear goals or more to win the title; any other result would mean an eighteenth title for Liverpool. Arsenal lead 1-0 at 90 minutes, and in the last minute of injury time (91:22), Thomas ran through the Liverpool defence and scored a dramatic goal to win the title for the Gunners.
- Carlisle United vs. Plymouth Argyle, May 8, 1999, the final match of the 1998-99 3rd Division season and a notable occurrence of a goalkeeper scoring an important last minute goal. With ten seconds remaining, Carlisle 'keeper Jimmy Glass scored from a corner, keeping Carlisle in business and in the Football League. It was rated seventh in the Times' "50 Most Important Goals"[1] and 75th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
[edit] International
- Netherlands vs. Argentina, World Cup Quarter Final, July 4, 1998. 90th-minute winner by Dennis Bergkamp from a 60-yard pass by Frank de Boer to take the Dutch into the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in twenty years.
- England vs. Greece, World Cup Qualifier, 6 October 2001. David Beckham's 93rd-minute (92:43) free-kick levelled the game at 2-2 and ensured qualification for England for the 2002 World Cup.
- 2006 FIFA World Cup: The semi-final between Germany and Italy was even at 0-0 and looked set to be heading to a penalty shootout when, in the last minute of extra time, Fabio Grosso scored for Italy. As Germany pushed for a quick equaliser, it allowed Italy to counter attack, and Alessandro Del Piero added a second to give Italy a 2-0 win and send them through the final, and eventual World Cup glory.
[edit] In fiction
The last-minute goal is often used in fiction due to the dramatic nature and possibility for a cliffhanger ending. It was used frequently in the football drama Dream Team, with the show finishing at the end of its final series on a fictional last-minute goal for Harchester United to win the Premier League. The real-life last-minute goal by Michael Thomas was used as a plot device in the novel Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and subsequent films of the same name.
