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Like father, like son: Goalie Kasper Schmeichel follows Manchester United dad’s example… of scoring

The son of Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel emulated his father’s goalscoring feats with a last-minute header last night.

Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper’s late header crashed off the underside of the bar before New Zealand striker Chris Wood was officially credited with the goal after stabbing home the rebound to rescue a point for the runaway Championship leaders in their 1-1 draw with Yeovil Town.

 

The former Manchester City and Bury stopper thought the ball had crossed the line but the assistant referee denied him a first career goal.

The Schmeichel clan are no strangers to scoring.

Danish goalkeeping hero Peter showed his son the way, finishing with nine career goals.

While the bulk of his tally were scored for Hvidovre and Brondby in his homeland, Schmeichel also registered strikes for Manchester United and Aston Villa.

A late volley for Aston Villa against Everton in October 2001 was the final goal of his career but is sole Old Trafford strike came from his head against Rotor Volgograd in a 2-2 draw in the 1995 UEFA Cup. 

 

 

Schmeichel almost followed this up with a spectacular overhead kick against Wimbledon in the Premier League in 1997 but his effort was rightfully ruled offside.

Clearly, son Kasper was watching and attempted similar acrobatics in his spell at Notts County in an early-season clash against Morecambe – famously, the game where former England defender Sol Campbell made his debut for the then-rich League Two side.

The Schmeichels are not the only goalkeepers to get in on the act at the opposite end of the pitch.

Set-piece specialist Brazilian Rogerio Ceni holds the record with a staggering 112 strikes, while Paraguayan Joes Luis Chilavert (62) also hit the headlines in the 90s and 2000s for his goalkeeping exploits as did scorpion-kick saver Colombia’s Rene Higuita (41).

In England, on-loan Carlisle goalkeeper Jimmy Glass saved his side from relegation from the Football League with the last kick of the 1999 campaign.

Main image courtesy of trainingtowin via YouTube, with thanks.

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