On 7th March 1998, lifelong Leeds supporter Goodman found the net for the Division One outfit with a delightfully-chipped effort in the quarter-final at Elland Road against his boyhood club - who at the time were knocking on the door of the Premier League's top four before enjoying five consecutive seasons in Europe.
A quarter of a century on from that day, here are Goodman's reflections on a special game and goal in his footballing career, and one which will live on fondly in the memories of Wolves fans.
BEFORE HIS GOLDEN GAME
Overcoming injury ahead of quarter-final
“I had a bit of an injury that Mark McGhee was nursing, and ultimately, he sent me off to Munich to get ready for this quarter-final. I went to see the famous Dr Muller-Wohlfahrt, that all the athletes and footballers go and see, and he worked a minor miracle on my achilles.
“There was a doubt that I’d be fit enough to play, but that particular section of the season was just me trying to manage a little bit of a niggly injury, which is probably as big a reason as any as to why I wasn’t playing every single game.
“I was going through a phase with this achilles problem at the time where I was having to warm-up before we went out for a warm-up! I was literally jumping on a bike in the gym particularly when the games were at Molineux, or on away games I would have to take one of those individual trampolines to just get this achilles moving a little bit. I would have to get it moving before I could even go out and do the warm-up and play the games.
“But it was in the era where you played through the pain unless it was literally not possible, so there wasn’t really a game in that period when I wasn’t in a little bit of pain.”
Facing a very strong Leeds side
“I think it’s safe to say they were an established ‘top six’ Premier League club in those days, so the fact that it was the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and they had a Championship team on their own patch, they were real heavy favourites to win the game and progress to the semi-finals.
“We recognised they were a very good team, we recognised they had the tools to hurt us, especially with Harry Kewell, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink [pictured below], Rod Wallace – a good striker, nippy, quick – so, we had to really stifle them and stifle the supply.”
DURING HIS GOLDEN GAME
Switching tactics
“Mark McGhee decided to bring an extra defender in and play with three central defenders, but he would also have myself, Bully and Dougie Freedman – three up top – to occupy their defence.
“They wanted to pass the ball out from the back and we wanted to stop them from doing that, so I remember that being part of the gameplan. One of the other things I remember was once they had comfortable possession, one of the strikers would drop back a be one of the extra bodies in the midfield area just to plug up the gaps and stop them passing the ball through us.
“I have to say, it was an absolute masterclass decision from Mark McGhee and the three central defenders, Curley [Keith Curle], Dean Richards and Ady Williams, were outstanding on the day to the point where although Hans [Segers] was required later in the game to make a brilliant penalty stop later in the game, he didn’t really have anything other than routine saves to make during the game.”
Scoring the winning goal
“We were very patient, and the only reason I found myself in the position was because I made a run from the left across to the right to make myself available for an out-ball.
“As Carl Robinson got the ball, I recognised their was space off the back of a Leeds player who had switched off and was ball-watching, I made the run, Carl spotted it, and in the end it was a good patient passing build-up and a good all-round team goal than people realise.
“The one thing I do remember about my part in the goal, was how terrible my first touch was. I didn’t get the ball anywhere near where I wanted and I’m pretty confident that first touch, which went a little wider than I wanted it in an ideal world is what drew Nigel Martyn off his line to think he might be able to charge it down. Of course, once he did that, there was only one thing in my mind.
“Throughout my career, I always had a habit of lifting the ball over goalkeepers who threw themselves at your feet anyway, and it all fell perfectly. I was able to clip it over him and into the far corner of the net and the rest as they say is history. It was a wonderful moment.”
Twenty-five years ago 📅
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 7, 2023
Don Goodman at Elland Road sends us into an FA Cup semi-final.
🐺⏪ pic.twitter.com/zDyqnQ4QD3
A tight end to the match
“You talk about intense and you talk about passion, but our fans were going mental. The Leeds fans were trying to drive their team on, and Keano [Robbie Keane] gave the penalty away. I’m thinking, ‘What was he doing there?’ He wasn’t noted much for his tackling then and it didn’t get much better throughout his career either!
“Once they got the penalty, you feared the worst, that they were going to score, but I stood on the edge of the D, and when Hans guessed right, I celebrated the penalty save more than I celebrated my goal because that was the clincher.”
AFTER HIS GOLDEN GAME
The meaning of the game
“Looking back there was the Wolves perspective, the personal perspective of me being a Leeds supporter and a Leeds lad who grew up on the terraces and was a ball boy at Elland Road, but I always seemed to score against them.
“I scored against Leeds for Bradford City, for West Bromwich Albion, for Sunderland and ultimately, that goal for Wolves completed the set at that time.
“There was also the fact that it was the quarter-final of the FA Cup, which is a huge game and the cup was still so revered around the world than it has been for the last 10 or 15 years and meant so much to people of my generation.
“There was also the cup upset factor. Leeds United were one of the best Premier League teams while we were a mid-table Championship team, so we didn’t have a right to go away to them and beat them, so when you throw all those ingredients into the mix, that’s why it’s my golden game.”
Being remembered for FA Cup exploits
“I get asked about three games in particular. Another one is the penalty shootout where Sheffield Wednesday came to Molineux. Any of the fans that were there that night can remember it because I think it’s still the only time a team have been 3-0 down in a penalty shootout and actually managed to win it.
“The other game is another FA Cup game where Leicester came to Molineux and people talk to me about David Kelly’s diving header where him and I ran the length of the pitch. I think it might have won Goal of the Month on Match of the Day. We beat Leicester City, another Premier League team at the time, 1-0 and they were managed by Mark McGhee, ironically.
“It seems that in my Wolverhampton Wanderers career, although there were many happy moments in the league games as we were trying to aspire to get to the Premier League, it seems the poignant memories and the ones the fans talk to me about all coincidentally happened in cup games.”
