SUNDERLAND'S winning goal against Liverpool came when Darren Bent's shot deflected beyond Pepe Reina after striking a large red ball which had been thrown onto the pitch at the Stadium of Light. Here we look at some other bizarre goals:
Luton Shelton (Sheff Utd 2 Man City 1, January 2008)Sheffield United's opening goal against Manchester City in their FA Cup fourth-round tie came with some assistance from the visiting supporters at Bramall Lane. A number of ball
oons released by the fans were lying in Joe Hart's penalty area when Lee Martin swung in a cross from the left. The ball took two deflections off a couple balloons, wrong-footing Michael Ball and striker Shelton sidefooted home.
Peter Enckelman (Birmingham 3 Aston Villa 0, September 2002) With his team trailing 1-0 to their rivals from across the city, the last thing Villa needed was to gift their opponents a goal, but that is exactly what they did. Olof Mellberg took a throw-in from the left but Enckelman failed to control the ball and it rolled into the net. Villa's Finnish keeper claimed he did not get a touch but referee David Elleray awarded the goal.
Dion Dublin (Coventry 2 Newcastle 2, November 1997) Dublin gave his side the lead with a cheeky piece of finishing. Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given collected a cross after being put under pressure by Dublin. But Given appeared to forget all about Dublin, whose momentum had carried him out of play behind the goal. Given rolled the ball out in preparation to make a long clearance but then Dublin came back on to the pitch, whipped the ball away and turned it into an empty net.
Gary Crosby (Nottingham Forest 1 Manchester City 0, March 1990) Similar to Dublin's goal but even more ingenious. The Forest winger was waiting behind Andy Dibble when the City goalkeeper picked up the ball. As Dibble held it out on his outstretched hand deciding what to do, Crosby nipped around the goalkeeper, nodded the ball out of his hand and scored.
