![]() Without Keane to steady the ship at midfield, Manchester lost its way, and within five minutes of his ejection, Chelsea had the lead thanks to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Annoyed by frequent sneaky fouls by Gusatvo Poyet, Keene took the bait and exacted retribution with a wild lunge right in front of the ref.įor Chelsea, this was mission accomplished. Teeth were gritted and studs bared from the opening kickoff, and Chelsea, it was clear, was out to rile pugnacious Manchester captain Roy Keane. Traditionally, no one goes all out in these matches since it’s essentially an exhibition match before the start of the competitive season next weekend.īut the contenders in this instance, Chelsea and Manchester United, have become increasingly bitter rivals in recent seasons with Chelsea one of the few clubs to consistently get the better of the paralysingly dominant persistent champ Manchester. But the world record has belonged to Giuseppe Lorenzo of Italian club Bologna since 1990: he saw red within 10 seconds.Ī red card was also at the center of events in the Charity Shield match, the English Premier league’s showpiece tune-up between Chelsea and Manchester United. Pressman’s dismissal beat the old English fastest red card of 19 seconds set by Mark Smith of Crewe in 1994. The 10 men somehow stuck it out for a 1-1 final, an outcome that seemed out of the question when it all began. The reshaped visitors held firm through the second half, and 12 minutes from the end of the game, striker Andy Booth stooped to head in the goal that tied it up following a free kick. For Sheffield, this was an unexpected turning point. This introduced a new NFL-style rule, moving the kick forward 10 yards.īut in spite of the ball being placed closer to the goal, this offered Wolves no advantage, and with bodies massed in the area, it was scrambled clear. The shots rained in on goal, and just before halftime, Ketsbaia drilled another free kick into the net, only for the ref to cancel it out for encroachment. ![]() And it wasn’t long before he had drilled home the opening goal, a bullet shot from a free kick.Īt this point, the match took on the air of a damage control exercise. ![]() With a one-man advantage, Wolves took a firm grip on the game, with Ketsbaia, the balding marauder, causing most of the problems for a shell-shocked Sheffield defense. “The game plan went out of the window inside 30 seconds.” “I could never have dreamt of a start like that,” confessed coach Jewell. Moments such as these often change coaches from gung-ho generals into disillusioned broken old men inside a matter of weeks. That forced Paul Jewell, in his first season as coach with Sheffield, to yank an outfielder and draft in from the bench his backup goalie, well-rested 17-year-old Chris Stringer. So before many arriving fans had taken their seats, the visiting goalie was gone. Many Italians even specialize in a cute little praying mime, figuring he’ll say “Know what guys? You got a point” and relent. Several players surrounding the ref demanding he switch his decision is a common sight. TV replays proved inconclusive and in common with every other whistleblower, the ref wasn’t about to change his mind. “The ball hit me on the chest and I’ve got the mark on my shirt to prove it,” he protested. The grim-faced goalie claimed he was innocent on the handling charge. ![]() It was the first and only time he touched the ball during the entire match, for with that temporary moment of insanity, Pressman broke a cardinal rule: no handling outside the area, and gave the ref no choice but to eject him on a technicality. His run took him outside his goal area, where he sprawled at Ketsbaia’s feet and appeared to claw the ball away. But rather than narrowing the angle and attempting to block the imminent shot, he simply kept going. Seeing Wolves’ new striker Temuri Ketsbaia bearing down on him as he chased a loose ball, Pressman dashed from his goal-line. Minding the sticks for English club Sheffield Wednesday – so called because, surprise, the original club played its matches on that day – at Wolverhampton Wolves, Pressman got himself red-carded with a mere 13 seconds on the clock. And unless the entire midfield of Fiorentina turns out in sombreros and attempts a pre-kickoff breakdancing routine on opening day, Pressman is assured of a long reign in the record books. LONDON – For all-time embarrassing starts to the season, goalie Kevin Pressman has just taken the cake.
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