BBC presenter Dan Walker has likened Cliftonville winger Jamie McDonagh to a Leeds United cult figure after the Irish League player produced a thunderbolt of a strike against Ballymena United.
McDonagh rifled home an unstoppable volley from the edge of the area to give the Reds a breathtaking lead in Friday night’s dramatic 2-2 draw at the Warden Street Showgrounds.
A clip of the goal was shared on Twitter by BBC Sport NI and that prompted Walker to compare McDonagh’s memorable strike to former Leeds United striker and hero Tony Yeboah.
Yeboah, now 55, spent two seasons at Elland Road in the mid-1990s and earned an instant reputation for scoring spectacular goals which often featured in goal of the season competitions.
Two stunning strikes against Wimbledon and Liverpool, the second a volley like McDonagh’s which rattled in off the underside of the bar, afforded him legendary status with the Yorkshire club.
Yeboah’s Wimbledon goal went on to earn him the BBC’s goal of the season award for the 1995/96 season, while his Liverpool strike was voted goal of the month for August 1995.
Reacting to McDonagh’s volley against Ballymena, former Football Focus presenter Walker tweeted the following to his 748,000 followers…
McDonagh, who joined Cliftonville from Glentoran in the summer, has scored five goals in his last four appearances for the Solitude club.
The in-form winger’s double against Ballymena followed a similar brace in a 2-2 draw with Linfield and an arrowed finish in a 2-1 defeat to Glentoran.
Cliftonville led 2-0 at the Showgrounds only for Ballymena to hit back in dramatic fashion with late goals from Leroy Millar and Paul McElroy from the penalty spot.
