Why the mad dash to report on last-minute goals is as exhilarating as the game itself

Every so often, a late point will arrive, sending adrenaline pulsing through your body. Then, the words come to you with all the verve and fluency of one of Liverpool’s counter-attacks

Sadio Mane of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Liverpool FC at Villa Park (Getty)

When Jurgen Klopp entered Villa Park’s press conference room on Saturday tea-time, shortly after Liverpool’s late 2-1 win, he described the emotions elicited by Sadio Mane’s stoppage-time winner as “the best possible in football”. If he had spent his afternoon in the press seats rather than the away dugout, he would have felt quite different.

Over the last month, I have covered five Liverpool games. They have scored crucial result-altering goals in the 75th, 85th, 87th, 94th and 95th minutes. Another 94th-minute goal came in a game which ended 5-5, reducing my match report to little more than 10 meditations on the various ways a ball can hit the back of a net.

For Klopp, this sort of thing is exhilarating. For us, it is exhausting. There is simply nothing more anxiety-inducing to your humble football hack than a late goal which swings the result one way or another, destroying large swathes of a carefully-crafted piece in the process, mere minutes before your deadline.

It can be particularly difficult for those covering late games and filing to newspapers, whose first editions are often sent to the printers on – if not before – full time. But even in the digital age, readers want immediate reaction and analysis no matter the kick-off time. In order to meet that demand, we have to write, edit, upload and publish as close to the whistle as possible.

There are coping mechanisms. Many write “runners” – run-of-play reports of standalone paragraphs that can easily be ‘topped’ and ‘tailed’ – though they don’t always make for the best read. Look out for hasty, blatant sleights of hand, too. “Ipswich Town thought they had secured a crucial three points in their battle against the drop until…”

Sometimes, you can only despair. A colleague of mine tells a story of how a fan once accused him of having an agenda against his team. The fan had incontrovertible proof that he was biased, he said, because when the team in question scored a decisive late goal, he glanced over at the press box and the reporter looked utterly miserable.

But every so often, a late goal will arrive and the adrenaline of the moment pulses through you, just as it is pulsing through every other soul in the stadium. Then, the words come to you with all the verve and fluency of one of Liverpool’s counter-attacks. These moments are rare but they are a reminder of what makes sport such an engaging spectacle and that is your privilege to cover it.

Yours,

Mark Critchley

Northern football correspondent