Last-minute goal

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The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game. It may not necessarily refer to a goal scored in the actual final minute of the match (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. 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, Scottish Premier League, English Football League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup and The Treble itself.

Notable last-minute goals

This list is not comprehensive, including notable goals from higher levels of national or international football.

Continental Cup competition

  • 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, 10 May 1995: In the final minute of extra-time (timed at 119:16), with the match heading to penalties, a spectacular 40-yard shot from Real Zaragoza's Nayim cleared Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, winning the cup for Zaragoza. Despite Nayim being at least 15 yards inside the Arsenal half and not being able to see it on camera, the goal is often incorrectly referred to as a goal from the half-way line.[1]

Domestic Cup

  • 1979 FA Cup Final, 12 May 1979: Known as the "five-minute final" Arsenal were beating Manchester United 2-0 with five minutes remaining, but by the 89th minute United were level having scored two goals in two minutes. However, their celebrations were short-lived when Alan Sunderland scoring Arsenal's winning goal just a minute later.
  • 1993 FA Cup Final replay, 20 May 1993: With the first 1993 FA Cup final between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday ending in a 1-1 draw, the same scoreline stood in extra time during the replay. However, the 119th minute saw Arsenal defender Andy Linighan outjump Wednesday's Mark Bright to head in the winning goal. Linighan played most of the match with a broken nose, having been deliberately stuck in the face earlier in the match by Bright, and his winner made Arsenal the first English side to win the domestic cup double.[2]

Domestic League

  • Liverpool vs. Arsenal, 26 May 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, the away team, 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. Often remembered for commentator Brian Moore's comment "It's up for grabs now!" as Thomas ran through to score.
  • Carlisle United vs. Plymouth Argyle, 8 May 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"[3] and 72nd in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
  • Hamburg vs. Bayern Munich, 19 May 2001: The final day of the German Bundesliga season saw Bayern Munich in the lead to Schalke 04 by three points. Due to worse goal difference Bayern needed at least a draw at their away-match at Hamburger SV to secure the championship. Schalke on the other hand faced SpVgg Unterhaching at home and managed to win in a turbulent match by 5-3. In the 90th minute of the Bayern match a goal by Sergej Barbarez gave Hamburg the 1-0 lead. Believing that Schalke had won their first Bundesliga championship ever, Schalke fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate the title even though the match in Hamburg still wasn't over. In the third minute of extra time Hamburg goalkeeper Mathias Schober - who ironically was on loan from Schalke 04 for the second half of the season - picked up an alleged back pass with his hands and referee Markus Merk decided an indirect free-kick for Bayern about eight metres from the Hamburg goal. Bayern defender Patrik Andersson shot the ball through the wall of Hamburg defenders into the net making Bayern the league champions for the 17th time in club history. Schalke would later be dubbed 'champion of hearts' due to their close loss of Bundesliga title they believed to have already won.
  • Motherwell vs. Celtic, 25 May 2005: The final day of the Scottish Premier League season saw Celtic and their Old Firm rivals Rangers battling it out for the league title. Both teams were winning their respective matches; Celtic were 1-0 up against Motherwell at Fir Park whilst Rangers were winning 1-0 against Hibernian at Easter Road. As things stood, Celtic would win the SPL title by just two points, but Motherwell striker Scott McDonald scored an unlikely equaliser in the 88th minute. This meant that Rangers would win the title as long as they beat Hibernian. Then, less than two minutes later, as Celtic pushed forward to try and salvage the title, McDonald was able to score again and give Motherwell a 2-1 win. Rangers hung on to win and were crowned champions, winning by a single point. Ironically, McDonald signed for Celtic two years later and helped them to win the title in the 2007-08 season.
  • Persepolis vs. Sepahan, 17 May 2008: Tehran's Persepolis FC won the Iran Pro League 2007-08 in the final game of the season at the Azadi Stadium after Sepehr Heidari scored a header, timed in 90+6', to give them a 2-1 result against Sepahan FC. Persepolis needed to win this final game of the season at home to win the title, while eventual runners-up Sepahan only needed to avoid defeat to win the league instead.
  • Ruch Chorzów vs. Lech Poznań, 11 May 2010: before the second-to-last matchday of the Polish Ekstraklasa, Wisła Kraków was 2 points ahead of Lech, and at injury time lead Cracovia 1-0, while Lech was drawing 1-1 with Ruch, in the 92th minute Sławomir Peszko scored for Lech to cut the gap to a single point, less than a minute later, Mariusz Jop scored an own goal for Cracovia, and Lech became the leaders, and clinched the title four days later.
  • Beitar Jerusalem vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv, 15 May 2010: To win the title, Hapoel had to win their final match of the season in the stadium of their great rivals, while Maccabi Haifa also had to drop points against Bnei Yehuda. Both matches were tied at 1-1 going into extra time, but Eran Zahavi scored for Hapoel in the 92nd minute and won the match and the title for the team.

International

  • 1998 FIFA World Cup quarter-final: Netherlands vs. Argentina, 4 July 1998. The quarter-final between Argentina and Netherlands looked to be heading for extra-time until Dennis Bergkamp netted a 90th minute winner from a 60-yard (55 m) pass by Frank de Boer to take the Dutch into the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in twenty years.
  • 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-final: Germany and Italy, 4 July 2006. The game 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, they 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. Italy also won their first knockout-round match against Australia with a last minute penalty from Francesco Totti.
  • UEFA Euro 2008 – Turkey: A number of vital last-minute goals defined Turkey's progression through the tournament, with the Turks leading games for only nine total minutes up to the semi-finals. Versus Switzerland in Group A, an injury time (92nd) minute goal by Arda Turan kept the Turks in the tournament. In the subsequent group decider against the Czech Republic, Turkey came back from 2–0 down to win 3–2 with a last minute (89th) winner by Nihat Kahveci. In the quarter-final match versus Croatia, Ivan Klasnić scored in the last minute of normal extra-time (119th) and looked to have booked Croatia's place in the semi-finals but once again with the last kick of added time (123rd), Semih Şentürk of Turkey levelled the score at 1–1 to take the game into penalties, which Turkey won 3–1. A last minute (90th) goal by Philipp Lahm of Germany subsequently eliminated Turkey 3–2 in the semi-final.
  • 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification CONCACAF Fourth Round: United States vs Costa Rica, 14 October 2009. On the final day of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, Costa Rica needed to win against the United States to qualify (the U.S. had already qualified) and force Honduras into the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL playoff against Uruguay. Honduras had to win and hope for a United States win or draw to qualify. Honduras won their match against El Salvador by 1-0; at the same time, the Costa Ricans were winning 2-1. However, referee Benito Archundia ordered five minutes of stoppage time because Costa Rican manager René Simoes, who had been sent off, refused to leave the pitch. The game was delayed while police were called in to escort Simoes off the pitch. At 94:40, Jonathan Bornstein scored off of a corner kick for the United States. The game ended 2-2, meaning Honduras qualified on goal difference. Costa Rica, who were twenty seconds away from qualifying, faced Uruguay in the inter-confederation playoff, which Uruguay eventually won.

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 television 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, scored by Michael Thomas, was used as a plot device in the novel Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and subsequent films of the same name. In the film Mike Bassett: England Manager, England score a last-minute winner against old rivals Argentina (which parodies both the Hand of God and Maradona's Goal of the Century which were scored against England) to save Bassett's job. In addition to this, a last-minute goal by Luxembourg against Turkey allows Bassett's England to qualify for the World Cup.

References

  1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv35OY396Fo
  2. ^ http://archive.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/2001/5/11/171217.html
  3. ^ 50 most important goals | Football - Times Online
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