“They all count” has been a phrase often used by pundits to describe goals that have either gone in off someone’s backside or dribbled over the line, even ones that have gone in from a deflection off some seaside paraphernalia.
But there’s nothing is like watching a good goal hit the back of the net. I love to see a well worked goal, intricate passes and even a Messi like chip over the keeper. Just doing enough to make sure that it gets to its intended target. A freekick can be a good one as there’s an expectation if it’s somewhere near the box that it could find a way in.
But my favourite is a goal that rips the stanchion out. An unstoppable strike that if you told the keeper where it was going, he's still not getting to it. A Phillips vs Chelsea. A Richardson vs The Mags. Borini’s first goal. Even a bullet header gets my blood going with excitement. A cross met with such ferocity that nothing or no one is preventing the goal. Kevin Ball vs Chelsea. Or Marco vs Man City.
Now as this somewhat surprise derby day approaches, there is one goal that holds a soft spot in my memory, a goal that 48,000 people inside the stadium and millions watching at home watched in disbelief as it left Jermain’s foot and arrowed past a helpless Tim Krul.
Defoe hadn’t seen much of the play in that first half with him playing wider than his usual central role. The finish belies the myth he’s a tap in expert or was in the twilight of his career after his time in Canada. He says himself he’s not caught one much sweeter, the sort of goal that kids run outside to recreate.
The type that by the time you get to the pub after the game it has got 10 yards further out. Pure killer instinct without any thought of anything else. Then came the burst of emotion, tears from our new hero. Tears in the stands. The buzz created in the ground at half time led to singing throughout the break and the bars were alive with laughter and pleasure from witnessing one of the very best.
Evoking memories of our greatest partnership to ever play at the SOL. The big man knocking it down for the little lad. While we may not be at our greatest moment at the minute and lacking a striker or three. But never underestimate the power of the stadium in full flow against a very disjointed Newcastle. It’s a free hit for us, and we should be relishing taking them on. Let’s do this…
