Page 4 - Deal Round Up January 2021

What was the best
goal you have ever
seen?
By
Matt Badcock
WHAT’S THE best goal you’ve seen live? Not necessarily your favourite or one that meant the most,
saw your club win something or, dare I say it, avoid relegation. But the best. Football is subjective.
One person’s best goal might not be to the taste of another’s. Some prefer mazy runs. Others think
there’s nothing better than a long range strike that crashes in off the underside of the bar.
We’re fortunate we get to see more Non-League goals than we ever did. Now wonder strikes from
across the country are only a few clicks away, be it on the club’s website, YouTube channel or social
media. Often we will see a goal just moments after the game has finished.
It used to be waiting to buy the end of season club video to re-live those moments that could have
occurred months earlier. Was it quite as good as you remembered? Was it really that far out? Did
the keeper really have no chance?
One that will always live long in my memory was a strike by Michael Warner for Farnborough Town
against Heybridge Swifts. A headed clearance fell out of the sky to custom-
ary cries of ‘SHOOT!’ Often the instruction to take aim is swiftly followed
by groans as the ball sails off target, troubling parked vehicles in the car
park more than the goalkeeper. But this day, Warner’s effort was a dream.
Like a tracer missile the ball rocketed into the top corner. Two goalkeepers
wouldn’t have saved it. It was brilliant. These days it would have gone ‘viral’
and been retweeted thousands of times on twitter.
Technology has certainly made our annual Goal of the Season at The NLP’s
National Game Awards more competitive than ever. More and more nomi-
nations roll in each year, all worthy winners from all different levels of the
game. In years gone by, these goals would be the stuff of myth and legend.
Now the tangible proof is there.
I was fortunate enough to be at the National League North Eliminator game between Brackley Town
and Gateshead a few months ago. Fans weren’t allowed in the grounds. That was a shame for loyal
supporters as it is but even more so when Shane Byrne pulled a spectacular rabbit out of the hat
on the stroke of half-time. Gateshead had just gone one up deep in first-half
stoppage time and looked for all the world to be heading into the break in
front. But Byrne, apparently, had other ideas. Receiving the ball from kick-off
inside his own half, the midfielder hit an inch perfect ball that flew right into
the top corner. Gateshead keeper Brad James had no chance. It wasn’t like
he’d been caught unawares not concentrating. It left the handful of people
inside the ground open-mouthed. A wow moment. The only problem for me
being, I didn’t fully see it. I was taking notes down from the first goal. Who
shoots direct from kick-off!? I saw it in the air from a long way out, I saw it
arrow into the net. I saw 80 per cent of it. But I didn’t see the actual strike
itself.
So does it count as my best goal witnessed live? It’s certainly the best one I nearly saw!
Journalists Need Friends By Jon Crouch
A JOURNALIST is only as good as their contacts book, as they say – so we at The Non-League Paper
reckon we’re onto a pretty good thing. Printing a weekly paper throughout lockdown, without a ball
being kicked, wasn’t easy. In fact, it was only made possible by the ‘fraternity’ – the chairmen and
women, managers, players and supporters of football clubs across the land.
We’re pretty lucky at The NLP. We have a loyal following and an enviable understanding with
the people we represent. Yes, of course, we realise that having a relationship with the Press
is in their interests but it goes beyond that. A great number of players and managers can be
counted as friends and we are very proud of that.
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