The FAI Cup got off to a fantastic start last night, with the game between Athlone Town the standout.
The match would finish 4-4, with Waterford eventually going through on penalties. That scoreline ensured it was a remarkable enough game in itself, but there were a couple of genuinely insane incidents during the 120 or so minutes.
Glen McAuley's 124th minute equaliser for Athlone has gone viral, and it's not difficult to see why.
The former Liverpool man scored from his own half with the last kick of the game to send it to penalties, completing a hat-trick on his debut for the club.
OH MY GOD! 🤯
Absolutely incredible goal by Glen McAuley to score his hat trick and equalise for Athlone Town, the game goes to penalties! 😱@AthloneTownAFC 4-4 @WaterfordFCie
Sign up 📺 | https://t.co/vfkMjbvRwA#LOITV | #LOI pic.twitter.com/p4lSjUewI6— SSE Airtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) July 23, 2021
That wasn't the only strange to thing to happen during the game, with Waterford's Anthony Wordsworth receiving one of the harshest red cards you are ever likely to see.
It came via a second yellow for kicking the ball away after the referee had given a throw-in.
The only thing is that the ball clearly did not cross the sideline, with Wordsworth then punished for passing the ball to his teammate after he assumed the play would continue.
You can watch the incident below.
The ball doesn’t go out of play, I pass the ball to my team mate and get sent off for kicking the ball away 🤷🏻♂️🤣 I will miss a game next week but that ref will ref a game. Make it make sense pic.twitter.com/7lihAzrytR
— Anthony Wordsworth (@a_words_4) July 24, 2021
You can understand why the former AFC Wimbledon man is not happy with the decision.
To add insult to injury, Wordsworth will now be suspended for one match as there is no way to appeal a second bookable offence.
An absolute shocker.
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