Paul Dickov a footballing legend!? Well maybe the wee man wouldn't make it into everyone's first eleven but this is about THAT goal. Whether you were there, watching on TV or walking away from Wembley with your chin on you chest - you'll never forget Dickov's Equaliser.
After being relegated twice in three years, by 1998 Manchester City found themselves in the Second Division of the Nationwide league and had become a laughing stock in football circles. Despite losses to teams such as York and Wycombe, City managed a late run of results and on Sunday May 30th 1999 faced Gillingham in the play-off final at Wembley.
Expectations were high, but with 17 seconds of normal time remaining City were trailing 2-0. Thousands of stunned and disappointed fans were heading for the exits as City stared into the abyss of another season in Division Two. Then the unbelievable! With 17 seconds to go, Kevin Horlock made it 2-1 and the referee signalled for five minutes of injury time. With four and a half minutes of stoppage time gone, a loose ball dropped to Paul Dickov on the edge of the penalty area, allowing the diminutive striker to launch an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the net. The passage to Division One was secured in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.
Dickov’s goal signalled a turning point for Manchester City FC. The demons of two decades of disappointment and failure were banished and a newfound optimism surged through the club. City went on to clinch promotion and escape the clutches of the Second Division, and a season later they were back in the Premiership.
The dire situation in which this famous club had found itself and the dramatic timing of Dickov’s strike make this one of the most important and memorable goals in the history of Manchester City.