The goalkeeper infamously let a throw-in from his own teammate roll under his foot and into the net in the second city derby in 2002.
Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman has been painfully reliving the worst moment of his career in an interview with The Times, discussing his horror show in the second city derby against Birmingham City 14 years ago.
Villa were already 1-0 down to their arch-rivals at St. Andrew’s in September 2002 when Olof Mellberg’s throw-in pass rolled under the boot of the Finnish goalkeeper to double the deficit.
Enckelman’s side would go on to lose 3-0, and it was a moment from which the then-24-year-old’s Villa career arguably never recovered.
There was some debate at the time as to whether the goal should have stood. The laws of football that that you cannot score direct from a throw-in, something which extends to own goals.
However, if, as was evidently determined on the day, the ball had scraped the bottom of the stopper’s boot on its way in then it was a legitimate goal.
Speaking to The Times about the incident, Enckelman insisted that to this day he cannot be sure if he touched the ball or not.
He admitted: “The actual truth is I’m not 100% sure. I’m 90% sure I didn’t touch the ball, but I couldn’t swear I did. Steve Staunton asked me if I did and I said no, so he said it should be a corner. I saw Robbie Savage harassing the linesman, and then they gave the goal.
Enckelman also discussed his admirable lack of reaction in the face of an abusive, pitch-invading Birmingham fan after the goal, and admitted that he knew he would put himself in danger if he had responded physically.
He added: “I just told myself to not move or do anything. If I had physically done something, I was at the wrong end of the stadium to get to the dressing room.
“I took a lot and it was scary how many mentions there were of that game, what I have learned is that it isn’t the person that people hate, it’s the goalkeeper.”
The sheer mention of the incident will still make Villa fans shudder, and they will be praying that things go a lot more smoothly when they and the man who was Blues boss that day, Steve Bruce, return to St. Andrew’s tomorrow afternoon.
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