Queens Park Rangers v Bristol City

HOOPS
Smith, they took a break to
attend an FA Cup tie against
Barnsley. It was January 1997
and would be his American
guest’s first experience of a
football match.
It coincided with a bid by
Rangers winger Trevor Sinclair,
who went on to Manchester
City and England, for
immortality in Shepherd’s Bush.
Rangers led 2-1 with
goals from John Spencer
and Gavin Peacock after
Neil Redfearn had put the
visitors ahead in front of
Barnsley-born TV presenter
and journalist Sir Michael
Parkinson when Sinclair
extended the lead with a goal
considered one of the best,
if not the best, seen at the
famous old stadium.
It won him the Match of the
Day ‘Goal of the Season’
accolade in a campaign David
Beckham scored from the
halfway line for Manchester
United at Wimbledon.
Sinclair, sporting dreadlocks,
was on the edge of the
penalty area and tightly
marked. But he launched
himself off the ground and
completed a bicycle kick
from a Spencer cross which
sped into the Barnsley goal at
seemingly the speed of light.
Saloman, along with the rest
of the Rangers’ faithful in
the 14,000 present, went
bananas. Lord turned to him
and said: “Hmmmm, not
bad.” Her escort’s knee-jerk
reaction: “Not f****** bad?!
That’s the best goal I’ve ever
f****** seen!”
Rangers went on to hit the
right note and win 3-2.
* Mike Donovan is an author
and award-winning journalist.
He also produced Queens
Park Rangers Greatest
Games in 2013, with Stan
Bowles, no less, helping
to promote it and ‘Sir’
Les Ferdinand writing the
foreword. Has a feel for the
Bush. Taken to Cook’s Pie
and Mash Shop in the area’s
market by his mum (who
worked in the area) and dad,
attended concerts at the
fabulous Empire and hung
out socially in W12 growing
up. Has written a series of
football books, the latest,
Football’s Braveheart: The
Authorised Biography of
Dave Mackay, was published
by Pitch in July.
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