Mark Travers: Bournemouth goalkeeper scores in stoppage time and saves penalty in cup final shootout
Last updated on .From the section Bournemouth
Goalkeepers scoring goals is not that rare an event in football. But goalkeepers scoring stoppage-time equalisers to take a cup final to penalties before saving a spot-kick in the shootout are.
Step forward Bournemouth's Mark Travers, the most senior member of the club's under-21s side that took on Eastleigh in the Hampshire Senior Cup final on Tuesday.
The Republic of Ireland international, 21, had an eventful evening in a match that finished 2-2 after 90 minutes before the Cherries won 5-3 on penalties.
He saved a first-half penalty, scored the equaliser in added time and then saved the first Eastleigh penalty in the shootout.
Bournemouth had gone 1-0 behind early to a header from Abdulai Baggie before Gavin Kilkenny equalised from a free-kick.
Five minutes before the break came Travers' first key moment. He saved a penalty from Eastleigh's Dan Smith after Dinesh Gillela had fouled Lewis Beale.
But Bournemouth went behind again early in the second half as Ben Scorey made it 2-1 and that looked like being enough to hand Eastleigh the trophy.
But in the second minute of injury time, Travers went up for Kilkenny's corner and powered in a header from just outside the six-yard box to make it 2-2.
"I looked at the bench before the corner and I could see them telling me to go up, so I just went for it," Travers told AFCB TV.
"I just thought 'why not?' I made that near-post run and thankfully the ball landed on my head and hit the target, so it was a great feeling."
It was not even Travers' first goal - as he scored the winning goal from his own half on his Southern League debut for Weymouth against Bishop's Stortford, during a loan spell with the Terras in 2017.
This time, his heroics did not finish with scoring a goal as, with the final at AFC Totton going straight to penalties, he kept out Dan Bradshaw's attempt before Bournemouth went on to score all five of theirs to lift the cup.
Travers has made only two senior appearances for Bournemouth this season, but could still play a crucial role as back-up to Asmir Begovic as they prepare for the Championship play-offs later this month.
"It's a busy few weeks coming up, so it was important to get some minutes under my belt and enjoy a nice moment like that," he said.
"I feel good and have been working hard in training so it was good to be out there and keep sharp and be ready for whatever happens."
Travers made eight appearances on loan at Swindon Town earlier this season before being recalled as injury cover for Begovic.
It was Bournemouth's first win in a Hampshire Senior Cup final since 1989 in what was the delayed 2019-20 final.
