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Football

17th Mar 2019

Millwall keeper hands equaliser to Brighton with 94th minute howler

Wayne Farry

millwall keeper

Oh mate, oh mate, oh mate

It was the 94th minute at the New Den. Home side Millwall were just moments away from their first FA Cup semi-final since the 2003/04 season. All they had to do was withstand one more Brighton & Hove Albion attack. They couldn’t do it.

The game up until then had been one of late drama. There were no goals until the 70th minute, when Millwall’s Alex Pearce got up for an absolutely huge leap and headed the ball past Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal.

They doubled their lead after 79 minutes when Aidan O’Brien got on the end of a Wallace cross.

That should’ve been that, but it really wasn’t, and Brighton gave themselves a small chance when Jurgen Locadia got on the end of a Solly March cut back and launched a flying shot past Millwall keeper David Martin.

Martin had little chance for that one, but the same cannot be said for Brighton’s equaliser.

Again March was involved, launching a swinging ball into the back post. Martin must have thought the ball was going wide, because he just left it. By the time he realised it wasn’t going wide it was too late, he was off his line and simply swung his arms in panic. It was in. It was 2-2, and the game went on to extra-time.