Molby Rants....But Should Goal Have Stood?

Last updated : 11 September 2004 By Richard Evans
Paul Connor finally notched his first goals of the season in a strange and comical encounter at the Vetch Field. The ex-Rochdale striker hasn't been enjoying the best of luck in front of goal this year, but even he couldn't have envisaged the chance that he was gifted to give Swansea a 1-0 lead in Saturday's 3-0 defeat over Kidderminster. At the final whistle, an angry Jan Molby was still ranting to just about anyone who would listen - but does the Kidderminster Manager really have a case?

For those that weren't there, the situation can only be described as pure comedy. An Andy Robinson corner was only half cleared by the Kidderminster defence, with the rebound falling to Andy Gurney on the edge of the box. Unfortunately for Kidderminster, their goalkeeper and defender had clashed in the process of the clearance and were both laid injured in the penalty box. With Kidderminster fans urging the referee to stop play, Gurney popped the ball onto the head of Paul Connor, who headed into an empty net from the edge of the box.

Next came the confusion. The Swansea players ran off celebrating while the Kidderminster defence huddled around the referee, who himself was trying to communicate with his assistant. On the touchline, Molby was being restrained by his management team from Kenny Jackett, while the 6,500 supporters looked around, bewildered at what they were seeing.

But does Jan Molby really have a case? Perhaps if a Swansea player had collided with the goalkeeper, the referee would have decided to halt the play. However, the fact that two Harriers players fell into each other clearly swayed the referee's decision. Swansea could have kicked the ball out of play, but the action occurred within such a short space of time, that they had probably not spotted the problem. In fact, Paul Connor's header was more of a knockdown than a goal threat - literally rolling into the goal as the Harriers defence stood and watched.

And so another bizarre occurrence in football that many fans have never and will never witness again. Molby will feel harshly treated, but Swansea's goal was perfectly within the laws of the game.