Joey wins goal vote

Last updated : 11 October 2008 By Tony Scholes
Joey Gudjonsson
For September things were just a little different. This time we had more goals, nine in total once the three penalties had been removed, and no fewer than seven different goal scorers.

We scored some good goals during September, enough to make this a very competitive vote, but of course that was never going to happen. In other months goals such as Graham Alexander's free kick at Forest, Paterson's two against Blackpool and Watford, along with Chris Eagles' last minute goal against Preston, would have all been vying for Goal of the Month. And yet none of them finished in the top three.

The goal that finished in third place was another that would have won it in many a month. From the second Eagles superbly kept a Joey Gudjonsson pass in play and knocked it on for McCann this was a top goal.

McCann got to the line before pulling it back for, of all players, Wade Elliott to come in at the back post to head home. It was the winner against Watford, but had to settle for third place in the vote with just 3.7% of the vote.

A week earlier, Premier League Fulham had been beaten 1-0 in the Carling Cup at the Turf. The goal came late from substitute Jay Rodriguez who scored his first ever competitive goal in the first team.

Eagles played the ball through leaving Rodriguez one-on-one with goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler. It proved to be a he dummied the keeper by dragging the ball with his right foot before rolling it into the empty net with his left. Another winning goal, yet it won just 5.8% of the vote to finish second.

So which was the winner? Go back a couple of weeks. We were trailing 1-0 to local rivals Preston in the local derby when we won a free kick. Alexander took the kick and played it to Gudjonsson. He was probably about 35 yards from goal when he suddenly hit this shot that initially looked as though it was going to sail way over the bar.

Then it moved, it dipped, it left goalkeeper Andy Lonergan helpless as it hit the back of the net right in front of the visiting fans. It stunned the whole ground before three sides got the celebrations underway.

A fantastic goal, and you thought so too, ensuring it won the September Goal of the Month with no less than 78.8% of the vote, the biggest vote since Wade Elliott's stunner at the Stadium of Light in April 2007.

The goal will automatically go into the Goal of the Season poll next May along with McCann's against Oldham.

The final vote was:

78.8% - Joey Gudjonsson v Preston
5.8% - Jay Rodriguez v Fulham
3.7% - Wade Elliott v Watford
2.6% - Chris Eagles v Preston
2.4% - Graham Alexander v Nottingham Forest & Martin Paterson v Watford
2.1% - Martin Paterson v Blackpool
1.9% - Joey Gudjonsson v Swansea
0.3% - Steven Caldwell v Preston