EXCLUSIVE
Forget Troy Deeney against Leicester and Sergio Aguero against Queens Park Rangers, Jimmy Glass is the ultimate last-minute saviour.
The day was 8 May, 1999 and Carlisle United were in a straight shootout with Scarborough to avoid losing their status as an EFL club on the final day of the season.
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Glass, a former Chelsea and Crystal Palace trainee goalkeeper, had only recently arrived in Cumbria, arriving on an emergency loan that required special dispensation following the club's decision to sell Tony Caig to Blackpool on deadline day (the current transfer window system began in 2002).
Despite making only three appearances for Carlisle, the former goalkeeper etched his name into the history books for his staggering last-gasp, relegation-saving strike that kept them in the Third Division (now League Two).
Relegation rivals Scarborough were playing Peterborough United and pulled off a 1-1 draw against The Posh.
With Carlisle also drawing 1-1 with Plymouth Argyle and only seconds to play, Scarborough's fans swarmed the pitch in celebration as they prepared to party at Carlisle's expense.
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And with just 10 seconds left on the clock in Carlisle's match at Brunton Park, Glass became the hero as he ran into the opposition penalty area for a corner to sweep home from close range and secure his side's Football League status with a 2-1 win.
Jeff Stelling, host of talkSPORT's Sports Breakfast, was also involved in the story having hosted Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday where football fans across the UK watched the drama unfold before their eyes - a moment Stelling says put the now-legendary show 'on the map'.
Now, 25 years on from his historic goal, Glass spoke to Ally McCoist and Stelling on The Sports Breakfast to tell recall the day.
“I was one of these frustrated centre-forwards for most of my career and so I always wanted to score.
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“I always thought when I ran on the pitch that I’d score in some way – I’d shoot from distance to try and nick a goal but I could never believe the way that the day panned out, the way that the scores panned out and what happened across at Scarborough.
“For it all to come down to the last 10 seconds and for me to be able to run up and score was just a magical moment for me.”
“In Carlisle they still talk about it," Glass continued.
"I’ve been talking to journalists this week and it’s just a magical moment for Carlisle fans.
“It’s one of those football moments and that’s what I’m really proud about - everybody in football got to enjoy it because it shows the game for what it is which is a marvellous, phenomenal spectacle where you never know what’s going to happen.
“Whenever I played anywhere else afterwards the fans would always shout ‘go on Jimmy, go up the pitch’ and I think that people forgot I was a goalkeeper.
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DRAMATIC MAY
May in 1999 was dramatic from the lower leagues to the Champions League
8 May: Jimmy Glass goal in the final ten seconds keeps Carlisle in the Football League
26 May: An Ole Gunnar Solskjaer goal in the dying moments completes a dramatic turnaround for Man United against Bayern Munich to win the treble
30 May: Paul Dickov's goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time drew Man City level with Gillingham in the Second Division play-off final, with City winning on penalties to start their climb back up the ladder
“They just wanted to see me when I scored but I always tried it a few times and never managed it!"
Glass's time in the limelight was as fleeting as his Carlisle career - the goalkeeper playrf on for another five years in the lower leagues after a permanent move to Brunton Park didn't come to fruition despite his heroics.
He then retired from football at 27 and left football to become an IT salesman and a taxi driver, but Glass is now back having crossed paths with one of the Premier League's top bosses.
He explained to talkSPORT: "I was at Bournemouth with Ed (Eddie Howe) for eight years and then when he left it was time for a change and believe it or not, I’m the general manager of Wimborne Town Football Club [in Dorset].
“We just got promoted out of the Southern League South Division One and into the Southern Premier, so I’m now the general manager of a football club which sounds crazy but it’s true.
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“We’ve got big aspirations. It’s a great club with good backers and we’re hoping to push on into the National League South or even the National League so it’s a different world for me now!”
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