"That" Goal

By Neil Ravenscroft
October 1 2004

Everybody has their favourite goals, of course, so the Huddersfield game tomorrow gives a chance to start an argument, because my favourite was against them.

You get them every now and again, don't you? Do you remember "that goal" against . . . well, whoever. Rooney's first league goal against Arsenal, Beckham's chip from the half way line against Wimbledon, Beckham again against Greece at Old Trafford and, of course, "they think it's all over, it is now – it's four". Well, for me, that goal came in the unlikely setting of Fellows Park against our opponents tomorrow, Huddersfield Town, which is what started this train of thought off in the first place.

It was in the old fourth division (division 2 to the youth of today) and we should have won the Championship. That's not sour grapes, we just threw it away at the end of the season with some spectacular home defeats and let in the team that had been chasing us all season, Huddersfield Town. In the 1 – 1 draw against them at home, however, came what I have always described as the best goal I ever saw at Fellows Park.

It started with the ball in the hands of Mick Kearns.

Kearns is, without a doubt, a Walsall legend. A fine shot stopper, his weakness was in the air, if anything, which was strange in view of his height. He is, of course, now the club's goalkeeping coach and one of his current charges, Paston, does remind me of him in many ways. Walsall's most capped player – what more can you say?

Kearns had a look around and rolled the ball out to his left back, Ian Paul.

What he was doing playing at left back that day, I can't remember, but what a prospect he was. A full back and midfielder who had come up through the youth team, he had just broken into the squad and looked sheer class, tenacious in the tackle and a great passer, he shone like a beacon for all too brief a period. Before we knew what had happened, he had retired from the game with a mysterious injury. No one who knows has told the full story to this day.

Ian Paul took a couple of touches, before flinging a superb pass out to the right wing and Steve Waddington.

Ah, Steve Waddington. Always liked him, personally, but you always thought he should have been a much better player than he was. Whether he suffered as a lot do from having a famous manager as a father, it's hard to say, but he never did fulfil his true potential. Still, he gave Walsall good service for a while.

Waddington took the pass on his chest, knocking it past his marker in the process, took a touch and looked up, to see Alan Buckley lurking on the edge of the area (and, incidently, being marked by a future Saddlers' legend in the shape of Peter Hart). What could he do, other than try and pick out Buckley with his next touch?

Alan Buckley – now there is the definition of legend, in club terms. In two spells at the club (in the process becoming our record signing, of course), he was with the club for 12 years, scoring over 180 goals in the process and found time to be a successful manager as well, his reign only being ended by our flirtation with 'sugar daddy' Terry Ramsden. In any Saddlers "Dream Team", he's pushing for inclusion as a striker, along with Alan Clarke, of course.

Over came the cross from Waddington, dropping just short of Buckley, as he stood on the edge of the box, some 20 yards out. What could he do? Hit an absolute screamer of a half volley, of course, which ricocheted into the net off the underside of the bar before the goalkeeper could blink, let alone move. From Kearns' hands to the back of the opposition net in a matter of seconds, with only 6 or 7 touches in the process. It was one of those magic moments when the crowd actually went quiet for a split second before erupting.

Everybody has their favourites, of course, but to me, it was, quite simply, the best goal I'd ever seen scored on the ground. Perfect.