Thursday, September 24, 2009

Man United's Top 10 "last-gasp" goals.

Below is an interesting article from Mirror Football which culled the 10 Best "last-gasp" goals which helped United win crucial matches over the years.
Unk Dicko has been fortunate to have seen all those matches and can recall those exciting moments. Btw, I agree with the match picked and ranked as # 1...the European Cup win over Bayern Munich in 1999. It was sheer supernatural magic for United in the final 3 minutes of injury time but sheer unbelievable hell for the Germans. Nothing can come as close to that performance except perhaps, if you are a Liverpool fan...then you will never forget that great comeback in Instanbul against mighty AC Milan when Pool were 0-3 down and almost going out. That will be another blog story.

Photo: BBC sports...showing Ferguson dancing around and Gary Neville screaming after Owen's goal and end of match.


Michael Owen's breathtaking 96th-minute winner for United in the Manchester derby on Sunday has resurrected all those faithful old lines about "Fergie time" and "dodgy stopwatches".
But the fact remains that Manchester United do have a supernatural ability to score the most important goals when the clock is against them.

The question is, where does Owen's amazing winner rank in the Old Trafford hall of fame of last-gasp goals? MirrorFootball presents the definitive top 10…

10) Nemanja Vidic v Sunderland (December 2008)The Serbian defender rescued United from an embarrassing draw against 18th-placed Sunderland with a 91st-minute winner at Old Trafford. Michael Carrick's deflected shot had hit the woodwork, and Vidic was the first to react.

9) Cristiano Ronaldo v Sporting Lisbon (November 2007)Sir Alex Ferguson likened Ronaldo to Eric Cantona after he scored a breathtaking free-kick in the 92nd minute of this Champions League clash. The Portuguese showpony netted from 30 yards out against his old club to seal top spot in the group.

8) Eric Cantona v QPR (March 1996)The enfant terrible of Old Trafford netted in the third minute of injury time to send Fergie's men to the top of the Premier League. United had been trailing to a Denis Irwin OG, until Cantona headed home a cross from Ryan Giggs.

7) Ryan Giggs v Juventus (April 1999)United's dreams of Champions League glory looked to be fading away, with United trailing 1-0 at home to Juve in the first leg of the quarter-finals. But in injury time, Ryan Giggs lashed home a close-range effort to give them a lifeline

6) Rio Ferdinand v Liverpool (January 2006)It looked as if Liverpool had earned a precious point at Old Trafford, and might have had three if Djibril Cisse hadn't missed an open goal. But in the 90th minute, up popped Rio to power a header past Pepe Reina to steal it for United.

5) Mark Hughes v Oldham (April 1994)Now he's on the receiving end, but once upon a time it was Sparky who broke hearts with last-gasp goals for United. Like this spectacular volley to equalise against Oldham in the last minute of extra time of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

4) Federico Macheda v Aston Villa (April 2009)Few had heard of Federico Macheda outside of Old Trafford before this afternoon, but the 17-year-old Italian made his name when he came off the bench to score a brilliant winner in the second minute of injury time and breathe new life into United's title bid.

3) Michael Owen v Manchester City (September 2009)Owen had scored more than his share of memorable goals in the red shirt of Liverpool, but few quite as dramatic as his winner for United against bitter rivals City in the sixth minute of stoppage time, after City had thought they'd pulled off an unlikely draw with a 90th-minute equaliser.

2) Steve Bruce v Sheffield Wednesday (April 1993)It was the goal that had Brian Kidd dancing on the Old Trafford turf. United had been trailing to a John Sheridan penalty, before Bruce netted an equaliser on 86 minutes. Then, deep into injury time, it was Bruce again who sealed all three points with a priceless header.

1) Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer v Bayern Munich (May 1999)United claimed the Champions League in unbelievable fashion, scoring twice in injury time to cancel out Mario Basler's sixth-minute strike for the Germans. Sheringham lashed home an equaliser in the 91st minute, before the Norwegian poked the ball into the roof of the net to seal victory in the third minute of stoppage time.

Readers...do you have others you recall?

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