Monday, 23 December 2024

SUNDERLAND, DRAKE AND CROSSLEY

23rd December 1978: An early Christmas present for Arsenal who recorded a 5-0 First Division victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane. A 42,073  crowd witnessed Alan Sunderland (below) score three goals, the first Arsenal player to score a hat-trick against Spurs since Ted Drake in 1934.

and in 2006, same day.....
Mark Crossley will be remembered by many as the only goalkeeper ever to save a Matthew Le Tissier penalty but on this day in 2006 he made a few headlines for a very different reason. Playing for Sheffield Wednesday in a home Championship match against Southampton his side trailed by a goal as the match entered injury time. Despite suffering a hamstring injury he limped up to the visitors penalty area for a last minute corner kick - and headed home the equaliser. It was the only goal he scored in a senior playing career that lasted nearly a quarter of a century.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXK049WVyEg            

Mark Geoffrey Crossley (born 16 June 1969) is a football coach and former professional goalkeeper. His playing career ran from 1988 until 2011 and he has previously played for numerous clubs in England's top flight, notably 303 apps for Nottingham Forest, where he became the only goalkeeper to block a Matt Le Tissier penalty. He was a huge favourite with the fans and indeed with Brian Clough who affectionately nicknamed him 'shithouse', despite being prone to occasional mistakes. He made over 300 appearances in thirteen years with the club, becoming first-choice 'keeper at the start of the 1990–91 season. Crossley played in the 1991 FA Cup Final loss to Tottenham Hotspur, saving a penalty from Gary Lineker! 

He has also played for Man Utd, Millwall, Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Fulham, Sheffield Wednesday, Oldham Athletic and Chesterfield; 422 apps in total. He has certainly been round the "block". He earned three caps for the England U21. He, however, opted to play for Wales and received eight full international caps between 1997 and 2004.

Following retirement, he moved into coaching and worked as a goalkeeping coach at Chesterfield, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley and Notts County. During these times he has spent two spells in caretaker charge of a club, having managed Chesterfield in 2012 and Notts County in 2018.




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