In honour of the partial solar eclipse today we thought it fit to celebrate some truly rare occurrences. Unlike the underwhelming eclipse from earlier these incidents never fail to make us giddy in a way like no other and we can't quite explain.
Outfield Players Ending Up In Goals
This never fails to produce a real buzz , the fact hat it has usually been preceded by a keeper being sent off only adds to the excitement. There is nothing like seeing an outfielder scrambling to find a spare jersey and strapping on the gloves. All manner of questions spring to mind, is he any good? will we see shots raining down on him from every angle? On most occasions we can remember, disappointingly, the player usually acquits themselves quite capably, John O'Shea for Man Utd against Spurs springs to mind, not to mention one Niall Quinn pulling off a penalty save.
Injury Time Going Into Double Digits
This one only seems to come about following a serious injury. But after the player has left the field of play the realisation comes into the minds of fans, could it really be? Are we gonna be treated to it? As the final minutes of the game approaches all attention is turned to the fourth official.
Anticipation rises as he raises the board, the crowd goes nuts as an eleven is revealed. This means that we are going to hit over a hundred minutes on the clock without having to sit through extra time, oh what joy.
Indirect Free-Kicks In The Box
Usually comes about from a goalkeeper picking up a back pass but can also be awarded following dangerous play such as a high boot. Most of the enjoyment of this usually occurs in the five minutes it takes from the awarding of the free to the time it is actually taken.
The delay comes from the referee having to get the defence to stay the required ten yards back following the debate on whether to have a nine or ten man wall. The indirect nature adds some extra spice as it gives the opposing wall the chance to charge out like maniacs in order to block it.
Scoring Directly From A Corner Kick
Corner kicks are not as exciting as indirect free-kicks in the box, unless of course the ball goes directly in from one. A couple of players have managed this feat such as David Beckham. But there are none more accomplished than Steve "Stan the Man" Staunton, who is the only player in history to have managed to do this for Ireland twice. This one came less than a year after pulling one off against the Portuguese.
Referee Books The Wrong Player/ Books The Same Player Three Times
The idea that the man who is supposed to be in charge can't even keep track of what is going on sends viewers into a skittish frenzy. You can't help but giggle as the innocent player tries to plead his innocence in a futile attempt to get the referee to change his mind. Imagine the hilarity that ensued when Andre Marriner got Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs mixed up after The Ox had illegally hand-balled an Eden Hazard goal bound effort.
As a bonus entry we also give you the rare as hens teeth, 'referee booking the same player three times'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caYdeTLSW-o
The Ball Hitting Both Posts
There is nothing more exciting in football than goals, that is a common misconception. Think about when the ball hits both posts. You can't tell me that that's not more exciting than seeing the ball in the back of the net. Sometimes it results in a goal but in the grander scheme of things that doesn't even matter, all that matters is that moment of the double ricochet, in this brief second of unfettered confusion it feels like the world has stopped turning on its axis.
Goalkeepers Scoring
The keeper coming up field for a last minute corner in itself is enough to get hearts racing. Think about the pandemonium that happens when they actually manage to score. Peter Schmeichel earned himself a reputation as a purveyor of this particular skill. But that's not the only way a goalie can get themselves on the scoresheet, there's the even rarer occurrence of the long range effort. Paul Robinson managed to pull off this feat in the Premier League against Watford while playing for Spurs, pure magic, especially if you had him in your fantasy team.
