Chris Wood celebrates his stunning winner at Derby
Derby County goalkeeper Scott Carson is reported to be “still frozen to the spot”, over six hours after Chris Wood‘s late winner for Leeds United flashed inside his left-hand post this lunchtime. Local reporters are telling us that Carson, formerly on the books at Elland Road, was left helpless by the accuracy and ferocity of Wood’s thunderous strike. The keeper has not moved since, with all efforts to lure him from his goal-line proving futile.
A correspondent for the Derby Telegraph said “The latest is that Scott is still just standing there, legs braced as if about to dive for the ball, eyes fixed on the position where Wood struck his shot. He’s absolutely rigid and can’t be moved. He seems to be alive and even conscious. It’s like some catatonic state. The goalpost is still shaking, too.”
The new Leeds striker Wood, who has now scored three goals in his last three games, was modestly unassuming about his wonder strike. “Yeah, I caught it well and it’s went in off the beans on toast, as Merse likes to say. I killed it dead from Cooky’s pass, and it just sat up and asked to be hit. So, y’know, I hit it. The keeper’d no chance, he never moved.”
When we put it to Wood that Carson had in fact still not moved, the Leeds hero nodded understandingly. “Well, I caught the ball a hell of a lick and it probably shocked him, like. We never noticed he was still just stood there in the last few minutes and then stoppage time, we were all trying to keep the ball. Later, when we were about to get on the team bus back to Leeds, someone said the lad was still out there. It did seem a bit weird at the time, but I honestly thought he’d be in and changed and home by now.”
A Derby County spokesman confirmed in the last few minutes that Carson is still frozen in the position he was left immobilised in when the ball zipped past him. “Scott’s still out there and we haven’t been able to shift him,” he stated. “Luckily we’ve got a two week international break now, so we’re hoping he’ll move sometime in the next fortnight. Or at least say something, or blink maybe. It’s a bit unnerving, really.”
United Head Coach Uwe Rösler preferred to focus on his team’s “fantastic performance”, rather than discuss a statuesque goalkeeper. “The lads were brilliant,” he enthused. “We scored two fine goals and we controlled the game apart from a twenty minute spell after the interval when we let them back in it. I am so pleased for Tom Adeyemi, who now has his first goal for us. And yes I am sorry their keeper has had this reaction, but it is really not my concern.”
Derby County are nineteenth.
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 