Sometimes soccer gets a bad rap because of the perception that flopping gets rewarded, but that is not always the case. In fact, the opposite was true in Barnsley FC’s win over Wycombe on Wednesday.
Barnsley and Wycombe played 90 scoreless minutes before one of the weirdest goals you’ll ever see decided the game. Wycombe keeper Max Stryjek seemed content to take the draw, but he might have overplayed his hand.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Stryjek picked up the ball and slowly walked it out toward the edge of the box. That’s when Barnsley’s Sam Cosgrove ran up to pressure Stryjek and lightly bumped him.
Stryjek, aiming for the Oscar, dropped to the ground, and the ball went rolling away. There was no call from the official as Cosgrove collected the ball and deposited it into an empty net for a 1-0 win.
After the goal, Stryjek tried to make his case to the referee, but it was too late. Wycombe’s Harry Boyes received a red card for getting after the officials for the no-call.
Barnsley’s win was their ninth of the season, and the club now sits in seventh place in the League One table. Wycombe dropped to 15th after that unfortunate gaffe.