Gowser’s stunning strike at Accrington voted as Grecians’ best of 2012
Alan Gow’s ‘rabona’ goal, which he scored away against Accrington earlier this season, has been selected as Exeter City’s ‘goal of 2012’ and has been submitted as the club’s nomination to the Football League.
Each of the 72 Football League clubs have been asked to submit a single entry to the Mitre Goal of the Year competition, with the eventual winner due to be announced at the Football League Awards 2013 on March 24th.
City fans were asked initially to help compile a long-list via Facebook, before the selections were shortlisted into just five nominations. And Alan Gow’s ‘rabona’ earned a whopping 64% of the votes on a Facebook poll, and has subsequently been nominated to the League.
It was Gow’s second of the game – he opened the scoring in the first half with a fine placed shot which caught goalkeeper Ian Dunbavin completely off guard.
However it was his second goal of the match – coming in the 54th minute – that earned him all the plaudits. Liam Sercombe’s tenacity won the ball for City at the expense of Aristote Nsiala on the left byline, and when the Scotsman collected the ball he drove goalwards from a tight angle. With options inside the box, Gow opted to hit a ‘rabona’ – wrapping his kicking leg round behind his standing leg – to find the far corner of the net. The skill and effectiveness of the manoeuvre made it an especially popular choice with the fans, and seemingly with his teammates too who mobbed him to offer their congratulations.
The goal will now be reviewed by a panel and face competition from the other 71 nominees. The panel will shortlist five of the entries, and announce the winner at the Football League Awards.
Click here to see the video of the goal, and all of the match highlights from the 3-0 win at the Crown Ground, on Grecian Player.