One West Ham ace did not count on Steven Gerrard to attain when he lined up his last-minute blockbuster within the 2006 FA Cup last.
In one of many best finals of all time, the Hammers had been main Liverpool 3-2 in Cardiff because the clock ticked previous 90 minutes. But Reds legend and man of the match Gerrard nonetheless had a second of magic up his sleeve.
The legendary England midfielder had been affected by cramp however, with the ball dropping 35 yards out, nonetheless managed to provide a surprising end into the underside nook and ship the sport to further time.
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Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool memorably went on to win on penalties although West Ham icon Bobby Zamora, who was taking part in within the last, by no means anticipated it to get that far.
Speaking on an look on Under The Cosh, Zamora mentioned: “Mate, I’m behind him. The ball goes there, I’m stood behind Stevie G and it drops.
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(Image: UnderTheCosh/Youtube)
“A little bit of me is thinking ‘you’ve got no chance really’. Boom, swoosh, ah no. Honestly, Steven Gerrard is the one player with England that stood out for me.”
Gerrard himself ranks his strike – his second on the day – as his favorite objective from his glittering profession.
“Probably the FA Cup one in 2006 against West Ham,” he beforehand instructed Sky Sports. “Just due to the time and due to how I felt and clearly the significance of the objective.
(Image: Getty Images)
“That was probably the nicest one that I enjoy seeing back the most. The way I felt I didn’t have much left, it was a really hot day, West Ham were fantastic on the day they really ran us.
“I think the majority of our players were cramped up, we were tired and the distance where I was, looking at it now, normally you’d probably start an attack off rather than take that on.
“So I tried my luck, thankfully the connection was good and very relieved to see it fly in the back of the goal.”