#21: Alan Shearer, Coventry City 1–1 Rovers, Saturday 11th March 1995
‘First goalscorer: Alan Shearer’ or ‘Any-time goalscorer: Alan Shearer’ were near certainties for anyone’s betting slip in the mid-90s. But as Coventry City led Rovers 1-0 at Highfield Road in March 1995 and the match entered the closing stages, Sky Blues defender Brian Borrows casually asked the Rovers striker: “Do you think you are going to score today?”
Shearer replied: “I don’t know to be honest. How long’s left?” before the ref told him eight minutes. It was still enough time for a heroic and crucial equaliser.
With just three minutes remaining, Graeme Le Saux launched a hopeful long ball directly towards the Coventry penalty spot. Anticipating a challenge, Jonathan Gould opted to punch but Shearer managed to outjump the keeper – Maradona-esque but without the hand – and got the merest of flicks on the ball to divert it towards the open goal.
The ball trickled towards the line and into the net via the inside of the post, despite the despairing efforts of a recovering defending. “You should never have asked me that!” Shearer told Burrows when they shook hands later.
Rovers won all three of their other games in March and would have expected all three points from middling Coventry, but a draw was not the disaster which a defeat would have been during the Championship run-in.
Shearer said: “It’s probably one of the scrappiest goals I’ve scored but a point there might just win us the league, you never know…”
The goal didn’t just help Rovers to the Premiership title; it also appeared in the first Mission: Impossible film in 1996. In a London scene where Tom Cruise flicks through the Holy Bible, the background radio broadcaster can be heard stating: “In the Premiership, Alan Shearer's goal three minutes from time gave Blackburn a point against Coventry, putting them four clear of Manchester United.”
*This article forms part of the 101 Great Rovers Goals series. We're cruising along to completion of the project so please email any contributions to roversfanzine@gmail.com to get your favourite added!
