Odd (very odd) but true Soccer moments

OK, I thought these were worthy of a Monday afternoon.

The actual game of three halves


An English League game played in 1894 will forever go down in the history of football for having three halves. The match was between Sunderland and Derby County. It started with someone standing in as a deputy referee as the original referee was late. The match was played for 45 minutes, the original referee turned up and ordered a full 90 minutes to be played. Sunderland won 11-0.  (I think this was the start of “New Math.”)


Sent off for tripping streaker


Adrian Bastia was sent off in for apprehending a streaker in 2008. During an Astreas Tripolis match against Panathinaikos, Bastia tripped the streaker so he could be escorted off of the pitch by the authorities. The referee subsequently showed him a straight red card for violent conduct. (DOH!)


Police attack players


Police stormed onto the pitch and pepper sprayed a number of players following a red card in a game in Brazil, 2010. The player sent off in the match between Genus and Moto Cube refused to leave the pitch which caused police in riot gear to storm the pitch attacking him and other protesting players. (Where are these guys during our matches?)

I always got a kick out of this one:

"Chippenham striker David Pratt was sent off just three seconds into a game against Bashley last month," says Jimmy Finn. "Does that qualify as the fastest sending off ever?"


Surprisingly it doesn't, Jimmy. Pratt was indeed reported to have set a new record when he was dismissed for ploughing into Bashley's Chris Knowles after three seconds of Chippenham's 2-1 British Gas Business Premier defeat on December 27. We had all forgotten, however, about Cross Farm Park Celtic striker Lee Todd, who was sent off just two seconds into a game back in October 2000.
Where Pratt was sent off for a reckless challenge, Todd got his marching orders for foul language. Todd had his back to referee at the start of Cross Farm's Sunday league game against Taunton East Reach Wanderers, and was startled by the force with which the whistle was blown for kick-off. "F**k me, that was loud," muttered Todd, and the referee promptly showed him the red card.
"I wasn't swearing at the ref or anyone else," protested Todd afterwards. "Anyone else would have done the same - he nearly blew my ear off." Manager Mark Heard was supportive. "Players should be sent off for swearing at the ref or a player," he added after his team won the game 11-2. "But referees are supposed to use a bit of common sense."


Previously, we discovered the record for the quickest dismissal at the beginning of a professional match was believed to have been held by Giuseppe Lorenzo of the Italian club Bologna, who was sent off after 10 seconds in 1990 for hitting a Parma player. And then there are the substitutes. Sheffield United's Keith Gillespie was technically sent off after zero seconds during a Premier League game against Reading in January 2007, but that was after he had come on as a substitute. After replacing Derek Geary early in the second half, Gillespie elbowed Stephen Hunt in the face and duly saw red before the game had even been restarted. Walter Boyd achieved a similar feat whilst at Swansea, earning himself a dismissal before play had resumed when he was brought on as a substitute by Swansea during a game against Darlington back in 2000.

Good ones!!

My favorite:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/74831-barbados-vs-grenada-in-94-the-most-bizarre-match-ever

You would think a basic winning tactic in football would be to kick the ball between the posts. Your opponent's posts, that is. The team that is best at this wins the match.

Most of the time that's true, but an infamous game between Barbados and Grenada in 1994 turned logic upside-down.

Going into the last group game in a Caribbean Cup tournament (the Shell Caribbean Cup), Barbados needed to beat Grenada by two goals in order to reach the final. A draw after 90 minutes would result in extra time whereas anything less than winning by two goals would see Grenada through to the final. The catch, however, was that the organisers had decided that in the case of extra time a golden goal would count as two goals.

Barbados took an early 2-0 lead, but Grenada made it 2-1 with seven minutes remaining. Barbados were heading out unless they scored a goal—any goal!

One Barbadian striker realised that his team were unlikely to score another goal against Grenada, with only a few minutes to go and Grenada playing an ultra-defensive tactic. Instead, he decided that their best chance of winning was to make the game go into extra time and score a golden goal, which would count as two goals.

So he promptly powered the ball past his own stunned goalkeeper to make it 2-2.
Now, Grenada needed to score a goal—at either end—to avoid extra time and to go through to the final. The Grenada players, initially stunned by the goal and suddenly realising what was going on, turned around and headed for their own net.

Now the comedy really starts as the Barbadians had anticipated this move and rushed to defend the Grenada goal—in addition to their own—until the whistle went for extra time. Now be honest, who could make up a story like this?

In the end, Barbadian ingenuity was rewarded as one of their strikers scored the winning goal four minutes into extra time, which sent Barbados to the final.

As was to be expected, the Grenadians were not amused. Grenada manager James Clarkson was furious. "I feel cheated, the person who came up with these rules must be a candidate for the madhouse.

"The game should never be played with so many players on the field confused. Our players did not even know which direction to attack; our goal or their goal. I have never seen this happen before. In football, you are supposed to score against your opponents in order to win, not for them."

Just in case you doubt this whole story and its authenticity, have a look at this videoclip.

debit wrote:My favorite:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/74831-barbados-vs-grenada-in-94-the-most-bizarre-match-ever

You would think a basic winning tactic in football would be to kick the ball between the posts. Your opponent's posts, that is. The team that is best at this wins the match.

Most of the time that's true, but an infamous game between Barbados and Grenada in 1994 turned logic upside-down.

Going into the last group game in a Caribbean Cup tournament (the Shell Caribbean Cup), Barbados needed to beat Grenada by two goals in order to reach the final. A draw after 90 minutes would result in extra time whereas anything less than winning by two goals would see Grenada through to the final. The catch, however, was that the organisers had decided that in the case of extra time a golden goal would count as two goals.

Barbados took an early 2-0 lead, but Grenada made it 2-1 with seven minutes remaining. Barbados were heading out unless they scored a goal—any goal!

One Barbadian striker realised that his team were unlikely to score another goal against Grenada, with only a few minutes to go and Grenada playing an ultra-defensive tactic. Instead, he decided that their best chance of winning was to make the game go into extra time and score a golden goal, which would count as two goals.

So he promptly powered the ball past his own stunned goalkeeper to make it 2-2.
Now, Grenada needed to score a goal—at either end—to avoid extra time and to go through to the final. The Grenada players, initially stunned by the goal and suddenly realising what was going on, turned around and headed for their own net.

Now the comedy really starts as the Barbadians had anticipated this move and rushed to defend the Grenada goal—in addition to their own—until the whistle went for extra time. Now be honest, who could make up a story like this?

In the end, Barbadian ingenuity was rewarded as one of their strikers scored the winning goal four minutes into extra time, which sent Barbados to the final.

As was to be expected, the Grenadians were not amused. Grenada manager James Clarkson was furious. "I feel cheated, the person who came up with these rules must be a candidate for the madhouse.

"The game should never be played with so many players on the field confused. Our players did not even know which direction to attack; our goal or their goal. I have never seen this happen before. In football, you are supposed to score against your opponents in order to win, not for them."

Just in case you doubt this whole story and its authenticity, have a look at this videoclip.

That's crazy! Mad tactics on display.

My head hurts now!