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Israeli midfielder Ashraf Soliman was involved in arguably the most exciting game of his life when Maccabi Umm al-Fahm took on Hapoel Afula in a cup tie.
With his team 2-1 up and injury-time looming, Soliman contrived to score perhaps the worst (or best depending how you look at it) own goal ever as he pathetically poked the ball beyond his own goalkeeper yards from his own net.
Head in hands, Soliman and his team-mates slumped to their knees thinking they had blown their lead.
However, in an extraordinary twist of fate Soliman – yep him again – went on to net a 97th winner with the last kick of the game and bag his team a sensation 3-2 win.
Now that is drama at its finest! Ashraf Soliman we salute you.
Manchester United inflicted the heaviest defeat in Arsene Wenger’s reign as Arsenal boss when they smashed the hapless Gunners 8-2 at Old Trafford.
8-2?! Now, be assured this is not a printing error and that April Fools Day is a long way away.
In what was perhaps the Premier League’s most eye-opening result since its inception in the early 1990s, Manchester United bit, chewed and then spat out an (admittedly dysfunctional) Arsenal side on a warm Autumn day in September.
The result was probably best remembered for Ashley Young’s breathtaking performance on the United wing, as well as Wayne Rooney’s crafty hat-trick.
Reflecting on the result afterwards, In The Stands’ Rolly Pelovangu asked whether or not Gunners fans everywhere ought to consider committing suicide – rankled as it were by the sheer incompetence and pure futility of the attempts current boss Arsene Wenger is making as he struggles to keep the Gunners in the top 4.
It was a footballing moment the Premier League will never forget.
In recent years gone by matches between Arsenal and Manchester United was the outstanding Premier League fixture and has duly served up some classic encounters at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United: Premier League, Dec, 2006
It is fair to say that Arsenal have yet to truly leave a mark at the Emirates Stadium after moving in during the summer of 2006.
Yes, the 60,000-all-seater Stadium is state-of-the-art, as well as being one of the finest in Europe, but it lacks something which the now defunct Highbury had in abundance. Every Arsenal fan knows this.
Nevertheless, during the 2006/2007 Premier League season Arsenal were out of the title race by January, and 1-0 down with 10 minutes left on the clock courtesy of a Wayne Rooney header, things looked bleak for the hosts before Robin Van Persie leveled things up and Thierry Henry headed home the winner as the previously-muted Emirates Stadium exploded in joy for the first ever time.
Nottingham Forest’s Robbie Findley had the chance to level Tuesday’s match against local rivals Leicester from 2 yards out, but make quite a mess of things…
After Kasper Schmeichel makes a mess of dealing with a cross, American Robbie Findley has the chance to tap in to make it 1-1. His missed opportunity and the fact that Nottingham Forest are crap at the moment, led to the 2-time European Cup holders being smashed 4-0 at the hands of one of their local rivals and well and truly dumped out of the FA Cup.
Times are hard for Forest at the moment and I’m sure this miss did nothing to lighten the mood. For the rest of us, it’s definitely one to watch on repeat…
Former Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura took part in a live stunt on Japanese TV show where he had to try to curl the ball into a moving bus…
Nakamura, who is still playing at 34 for his first professional side Yokohama F. Marinos, launched this absolutely fantastic effort from an alleyway, where he needed mirrors to time his free kick to perfection.
Just goes to show, class is permanent…
If you’re anything like me, you still love Lego, and the Morgan’s over in Norway have found the perfect way to wish every football fan a Happy Christmas using the famous kids toy…
English Premier League side Arsenal take on the Spanish giants Barcelona, with all watching expecting the same outcome – a win for the Catalans, in the magnificent (Lego) Emirates Stadium.
The video features fantastic stop-motion animation between the two sides with unerring accuracy.
Highlights include Wenger having a hissy-fit when Messi rounds half the Arsenal team to bag the Barca goal, Barca get praised for stringing umpteen passes together despite not progressing up the pitch, an appearance from Gunnersaurus and a conga including both teams at the end of the match.
An absolutely brilliant video, but I can’t help but thinking that maybe the Morgan’s are wishful-thinking Arsenal fans. Either way, we’d like to join the Morgan’s in wishing you all a Happy Christmas…
Check out last year’s Christmas match by clicking here
They say that Christmas is the time for giving and it is no more true than with our professions players. Footballers across the country have been visiting fans of all ages, spreading Christmas cheer to all, putting smiles on faces of many…
As part of their fantastic youtube channel, Manchester City have been good enough to post their visit to Manchester Children’s Hospital online. There was another video doing the rounds on Sky Sports News of Stoke’s Jon Walters delivering food packages to elderly residents, sadly I can’t find the video but here is a link of one of the recipients inviting Jon in for a brew, to talk about his beloved Stoke City.
It’s a very pleasant reminder of the brilliant work footballers do with their local communities and makes lovely viewing…
Nigerian defender Festus Baise scored a scorpion kick and perhaps the greatest ever own goal during Sun Hei SC’s 3-2 defeat to Citizen AA in the Hong Kong first division.
Is this the finest ever goal you will see? That is, the finest ever OWN goal you will see?
Poor Festus Baise. The nippy Nigerian’s wonder goal (at the wrong end of the field) will forever be inscribed into Citizen AA folklore after his attempted scorpion kick clearance flew beyond fellow team-mate and goalkeeper Tse Tak Him and into his own net.
Quite remarkable when the possibility and indeed, the likelihood of Baise – or any other top striker for that matter – scoring such a goal had he tried, will be all but impossible.
Charlie Coridon’s moment of magic against FC Porto in 2004 immediately comes to mind as does Rene Higuita’s infamous ‘scorpion kick’ at Wembley.
Not even Lionel Messi could do that. Festus Baise…we salute you mate!
Barcelona have suffered a huge blow on the injury front as striker David Villa fractured his tibia in their 4-0 World Club Cup semi-final win against Al Sadd.
After being dropped to the bench for Saturday’s 3-1 El Clasico victory against Real Madrid, Villa started alongside Lionel Messi and Pedro in a three-man attack against Qatari outfit Al-Sadd.
The Spanish ace challenged for the ball six minutes before the break but collided with two Al-Sadd defenders before suffering a fractured tibia on his left leg.
Pep Guardiola’s men eventually went on to win the match 4-0 thanks to goals by Seydou Kieta, Maxwell and a brace from Adriano Corr but the club have revealed on the official Barcelona twitter page that Villa’s injury will rule him out for up to six months.
The news also comes as a massive blow to the Spanish national side who would have been relying on ‘El Guaje’s‘ goals to propel them to European success come the summer.
We at In The Stands almost spilled our coffees upon seeing Canadian singing sensation Justin Bieber at Stamford Bridge showing off his football skills and mingling with Chelsea stars Fank Lampard and Fernando Torres!
The video itself has gone viral and we could not resist a chuckle as Justin Bieber proved amongst other things, he has some seriously decent footballing skills in his locker.
The most eye-opening things to emerge from the video include the fact that:
1. Justin Bieber is left-footed in the mould of none other than Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie!
2. Bieber can bust some impressive kick-ups with all the confidence and elegance of a Canadian Cristiano Ronaldo to boot. Watch him go!
3. The 17-year-old can take a mean penalty! England players take note.
4. By donning the infamous Blue shirt, it actually looks like the teen pop icon has become Roman Abramovich’s latest signing.
Barcelona won the first El Clasico of the season after they came from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to goals by Alexis Sanchez, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas.
Pep Guardiola’s men suffered a massive shock early on when they went a goal down after just 22 seconds when Karim Benzema seized on Victor Valdes’ mistake to lash the ball high into the Barca net.
Still, the champions fought back brilliantly and equalized through Alexis Sanchez on the half-hour.
In the second half Xavi’s volley then took a fortuitous deflection off Marcelo to give the visitors the lead, before Cesc Fabregas neatly headed home Dani Alves’ pinpoint cross to kill off the match in the 66th minute.
By virtue of the head-to-head-rule, the win sent La Blaugrana top of La Liga on 37 points, level with Madrid but having played one game more.
The European champions now head to Japan where they will feature in the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid and Barcelona meet again in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu and In The Stands looks back to their previous three matches between the pair.
The Santiago Bernabeu…scene of some terrific, if not controversial meetings between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Here are the last three clashes between the pair and if they are anything to go by, Saturday’s match should also be a thriller.
Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona, Spanish Super Cup, August 2011
The Spanish Super Cup in August is meant to politely usher in a new season, but politeness was the last thing on anybodies lips when Barca came to town.
Despite playing fabulously at times, hosts Real Madrid were undone by two Barcelona goals on the counter-attack, the first being a rasping curling effort by David Villa.
Xabi Alonso equalized for 2-2 before Jose Mourinho’s men had a blatant penalty appeal ignored but the damage was already done.
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