Keepers on target in Sunday shocker

4:35pm Thursday 23rd March 2006

WHEN players from Sunday league sides Sir Audley's Arms and Trowbridge Town Supporters Club walked off the pitch at the weekend no one could quite believe what they had seen.

The match between the two Chippenahm and District League Third Division sides finished 1-1, but the identity of the two goalscorers had everyone in shock.

Incredibly, each team's goalkeeper had launched a wind-assisted kick the entire distance of the pitch past their opposing number to account for both goals.

After five years with Trowbridge, Robbie Newton, 24, finally opened his account for the club with a first-half kick.

However, he had little time to celebrate, because Steve Gee, 21, beat him with his own effort in the second half for the Chippenham-based team.

"It was the strangest game of football I've ever seen," said Gee. "It was impossible with the wind and it made football very difficult, because it just blew the ball all over the place.

"The wind was so strong straight down the pitch that we weren't even kicking it. It was just like a chip and it went right down to the other end.

"It made the game very one-sided in each half. It was absolutely ridiculous.

"Their keeper kicked it into the wind and our central defender was about to head it, but he left it and it bounced back through to me, but as I came out to collect it, the wind caught it and took it over my head.

"In the second half, I just kicked it through and it completely cleared their defence.

"It almost cleared the keeper as well and, as he went to catch it, he just dropped it into the net. It wasn't quite as embarrassing for me because I got one back. It meant the teammates weren't quite so harsh."

Gee said he didn't really celebrate, as he quite frankly had no idea what to do.

"I wasn't paying too much attention and then it just went in," he said. "It was quite funny. We just both kind of smiled and we were a bit shocked. It was very surreal. It was odd enough that we both scored, but to do it from our own penalty boxes was ridiculous."

Gee's manager Steve Mallard said he was in a state of disbelief after seeing it.

"We couldn't believe it," he said. "I was shocked, especially as his kicking isn't normally that brilliant anyway.

"I said to them all at half time, with the wind the way it was, to shoot on sight, but I didn't mean him."

Newton said one of his teammates had even predicted his goal before the game. "One of my defenders did say it was very windy and I could get one," he said.

"My main priority was to get it to our strikers, but I didn't think of getting it in the goal.

"I didn't know what to do when it went in. I shook hands with all of my defenders and gave my girlfriend a bit of a wave.

"We just smiled and shook hands at the end. It was unreal.

"We don't score many as a rule anyway, so I think it's made me something like the fourth top goalscorer."