🚨Goalkeeper goal klaxon 🚨
— James Dart (@James_Dart) January 19, 2021
Tom King from way downtown for Newport pic.twitter.com/fyLN0570Ay
NEWPORT GOALKEEPER TOM King sprung the biggest surprise of Tuesday night’s League Two fixtures when he scored the opening goal against Cheltenham from a goal kick.
King, 25, took advantage of the blustery conditions at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium with his first-half strike bouncing once before looping over the head of scrambling Cheltenham stopper Josh Griffiths.
Griffiths is on loan from Premier League side West Brom this season, but the 19-year-old was left red-faced by King’s wind-assisted drive down the middle of the field.
Even Newport’s social media team were caught out by King’s heroics, tweeting: “GOALKEEPER TOM KING HAS JUST SCORED FROM HIS OWN AREA… We don’t even have a GIF for him!”
𝙆𝙄𝘾𝙆-𝙊𝙁𝙁 | We're underway in Gloucestershire for tonight's @SkyBetLeagueTwo clash against @CTFCofficial
— Newport County AFC (@NewportCounty) January 19, 2021
Come on, Exiles! 👊#CTFC 0-0 #NCAFC #OneClubOneCounty pic.twitter.com/8IERu0YhJt
𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 Tom King has just 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 for @NewportCounty 🤯#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueTwo pic.twitter.com/8YkQwf0Krm
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) January 19, 2021
1 - @NewportCounty's Tom King is the first goalkeeper to score a goal within the top four tiers of English league football since Barry Roche for Morecambe vs Portsmouth in February 2016 (also in League Two). Cheeky. pic.twitter.com/DrT4pyA8Vm
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 19, 2021
Welshman King was making just his third League Two appearance of the campaign after recently getting the nod over the club’s regular stopper, Nick Townsend.
Newport are bidding to secure promotion to League One and headed into Tuesday’s match level on points with table-toppers Carlisle.
The game finished 1-1, with Matty Blair pulling one back for Cheltenham just before the break. Newport sit second as a result, with Wes Hoolohan’s Cambridge United moving into top spot.
