Rovers Miscellany

TOP 10 CRACKING HEADERS

Wednesday, 16 March 2022
By  
BRFCS

Three superbly crafted headers allowed Rovers to come back from a goal down on Tuesday to seal a crucial 3-1 victory over Derby County. Here’s a rundown of some other great headed goals in the club’s history.

1. Ian Miller v Chelsea (A), December 1981. Noel Brotherston's cross from left was terribly sliced by a Chelsea defender, and Miller met the loose ball with a huge looping header from just inside the box. It went in off the far-right post, arguably with the help of the head of keeper Steve Francis!

 

2. David Speedie v Newcastle United (H), February 1992. Colin Hendry’s powerful cross from the right wing was met with a spectacular flying header from Speedie on the day he recorded a hat-trick. Cue him celebrating wildly in front of the away support.

 

3. Kevin Moran v Derby County (A), May 1992. Rovers were precariously leading the play-off semi-final 4-3 on aggregate at the Baseball Ground. It needed the captain’s header early in the second half to send thousands behind the goal into ecstasy. He outjumped the whole Derby defence on the line while commentator Clive Tyldesley exclaimed: “Kevin Moran – surely the bravest player in the Football League – just threw himself into the thick of things and came out with a priceless goal!”

4. Colin Hendry v Aston Villa (A), March 1995. On the day Manchester United won 9-0, Rovers recorded another big win in the Championship race as a thumping header from Hendry found the back of the net. Dalglish famously said: "You get three points whether you win 9-0 or 1-0."

 

5. Alan Shearer v Coventry City (A), March 1995. Top-of-the-table Rovers were heading for a shocking 1-0 defeat at lowly Coventry but claimed a hugely important 87th-minute equaliser. Graeme Le Saux sent a hopeful punt into the mixer and Shearer heroically outjumped keeper Jonathan Gould. The ball trickled into the corner of the goal despite the desperate attempts of the recovering defenders.

 

6. Alan Shearer v Newcastle United (H), May 1995. Perhaps the greatest ever night at Ewood as Rovers sealed a crucial 1-0 win. Graeme Le Saux did excellent work on the left and clipped a cross to the far post. Shearer towered above John Beresford to nod in on Victory at Ewood Day.

7. Paul Dickov v Norwich City (H), February 2005. Morten Gamst Pedersen’s corner from the right looked to be curling out of play before it made the near post, but Dickov’s run and superb glancing header earned a great goal from the narrowest of angles as Rovers recorded an important 3-0 win in the fight against relegation.

8. Grant Hanley v Manchester United (A), December 2011. A simple header but it sealed a famous 3-2 win at Old Trafford as Rovers completely ruined Sir Alex Ferguson’s 70th birthday. David de Gea made a mess of Morten Gamst Pedersen’s corner and Hanley nodded into the open goal in the 80th minute.

9. Rudy Gestede v Brighton (A), November 2014. Gestede could have a top 10 of his own but maybe his best was this huge 15-yard looping header from Marcus Olsson’s deep cross. It hit the underside of the crossbar and looked to have gone in off the keeper’s back but closer inspection shows the spin of the ball took it over the line. Perfection.

 

10. Charlie Mulgrew v Doncaster Rovers (A), April 2018. The ideal scenario for a promotion-winning strike is for a fans’ favourite to score the only goal of the match late on in front of the away support. Captain Mulgrew’s wonderful header earned Rovers promotion from League One at the first attempt.

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