7 Outfield Players who put in heroic performances as Goalkeepers

#2 Niall Quinn - Manchester City

Niall Quinn pulls of a tremendous save against Derby County

Date – April, 1991

Opposition – Derby County

The Tale – The iconic Irish striker knew he was in for a tough match when he lined up against a relegation-threatened Derby county, but he had no idea how tough it was going to get. Having given City an early lead with his 20th goal of the season, he watched in horror as his goalkeeper Tony Coton was sent off for fouling Dean Sounders in the penalty box just before half time.

Teams those days normally abhorred the practice of naming substitute goalkeepers, and so it was up to the fiery Irishman to step up to the plate. Getting into a different jersey and pulling on a pair of goalkeeping gloves, Quinn would go on to establish himself as a legend in the eyes of everyone at Maine Road that day.

As Sounders embarked on a rather long run up, all eyes were on the fiery Irishman in goal. The penalty itself was rather decent but Quinn produced a tremendous save, as he dived well to his left to protect City’s lead. They would go on to double it in the second half and although Quinn misjudged a cross from the right wing to let Derby back in the game, he would do wonderfully well to keep them at bay for the rest of the game.The match ended 2-1.

Ten-men City, with their main striker playing as the goalkeeper for the entire second half, had relegated poor Derby County!