Those were the words of commentator Simon Crabtree as Mart Poom wrote his name into Mackem folklore with an emphatic stoppage-time header at Pride Park which earned Sunderland a decisive point.
It’s not uncommon to see a manager wave a ‘keeper forward in the dying stages if they get a corner in search of an equaliser, however, Poom’s heroics were like nothing seen before…
While the game was seemingly lost when Rams skipper Ian Taylor netted in the 90th minute, Poom – who had joined the club at the start of the year produced a Peter Schmeichel-style heroics as he converted Sean Thornton’s corner.
Towering way above everyone else at the back post, the Estonian flew through the air at great speed and effortlessly powered his header into the back of the net. “It was bizarre and a strange moment,” Poom admitted.
“After that goal I seemed to win over all the fans and it gave me a lot of confidence to achieve what I did in a Sunderland shirt.
“When I think about the goal now it was like a once in a life time experience. I had permission from Mick McCarthy to go up for the corner and that’s where it started.
“I started running from the halfway line and didn’t even have to break my stride,” he continued. “The timing was perfect and I got to the far post at the perfect time and managed to guide the header into the net so it was one of those freak moments.“
At the end of the game all fans from all sections of the ground – home and away – gave me a standing ovation so it was an extremely special memory.”
While Poom will always be remembered for his bullet header that afternoon in September 2003, the Estonian stopper confessed it was a season which offered so much for the Lads, however one where they fell just short on more than one occasion.
“We reached the semi-final of the FA Cup and played at Old Trafford but unfortunately lost to Millwall when we had a real chance to go all the way.
“It was a regret that we didn’t produce on that day and then of course there was the play-off semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace. I made two penalty saves and as a goalkeeper when we manage to do that you expect to go through but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
“We had a good group of lads who were willing to work for each other but it was just unfortunate at the end because we didn’t finish the job in the league or in the play-offs.”
