Last-minute goal

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, Scottish Premier League, English Football League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.

Notable last-minute goals

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

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.

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.

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. 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, 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" [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2132317.ece 50 most important goals | Football - Times Online ] ] and 75th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K6iRHbWDXEY|//uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K6iRHbWDXEY]

*Motherwell vs. Celtic, May, 2005, the final day of the SPL season saw Celtic and Rangers battling it out for the league title. Both were winning their respective matches; Celtic were 1-0 up against Motherwell whilst Rangers were winning 1-0 against Hibernian. As things stood Celtic would win the title by a single point up until the 88th minute when Motherwell's Scott McDonald scored an unlikely equaliser which meant Rangers would win the title as long as they beat Hibernian. Then in the 90th minute as Celtic pushed forward to try and salvage the title McDonald was able to score again giving Motherwell a 2-1 win and as Rangers hung on to win they were crowned champions.

*Real Zaragoza vs. Real Madrid, June 10, 2007, In the second-to-last match of the season, Madrid were second in the table, losing 2-1 against Zaragoza and FC Barcelona first, winning 2-1 against Espanyol, both in the 88th minute. In a turn of events, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the equalizer at La Romareda. 17 seconds later, Raúl Tamudo scored for Espanyol at Camp Nou, claiming the title for Madrid.

*Manchester City vs. Fulham, April 26, 2008, Having been the Premier League relegation zone for much of the season Fulham knew they needed to beat Manchester City to stand any chance of avoiding relegation to the Championship. They were 2-0 down and at one point mathematically relegated up until the 70th minute but fought back to make it 2-2. Diomansy Kamara then scored a 92nd-minute winner to complete the turnaround and help propel Fulham to Premier League survival.

International

*Netherlands vs. Argentina, World Cup Quarter Final, July 4, 1998. 90th-minute winner by Dennis Bergkamp from a convert|60|yd|sing=on 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, 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 in their first Knockout round match from a last minute penalty against Australia.

*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 9 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 of Croatia scored in the last minute of normal extra time (119th) and looked to have booked a place in the semi-finals but once again with the last kick of added time (123rd), Semih Şentürk of Turkey leveled 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.

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.

References