What a miss! Fans must stay to the whistle to catch late drama

FTEN attending a football match takes a big effort one way or another including travel. The game lasts on average 95 minutes.

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So I have never understood why people leave early and sometimes risk missing the only goal scored in stoppage time. There will be occasions when you have to leave, but in most cases, do you really need to?

Saturday offered three examples. Birmingham City scored the only goal in stoppage time when substitute Lyndon Dykes netted in the fourth minute of added time.

Another sub, Jordan Brown, scored the only goal for Blackpool in the 1-0 win over Barnsley in League One the goal coming in the EIGHTH minute of added time!

And in the National League, Jacob Wakeling scored the only goal at York City to give Solihull Moors their win deep into stoppage time.

I learnt my lesson as a 15-year-old on April 16, 1960, when Leicester City played Everton at Filbert Street.

My father used to drive me from our Cambridge home to my grandfather, who took me to watch the Foxes. My grandad could not take me for this match as he was moving further out of the city to Evington.

As I had planned my school holidays around this match, he arranged for one of his brothers to bring me home. But this driver insisted we had to leave ten minutes from the end.

You can guess what happened! Leicester were losing 3-1 at home to Everton. Bobby Collins (two) and Mickey Lill had put Everton ahead after Leicester's Len Chalmers had equalised from the penalty spot.