Rory Delap

The 64th-minute strike ended a near two-year goal drought.

Seven months later he scored two headers in a 2–2 draw with Arsenal at Highbury.

Both goals came in the last ten minutes of The Game, and would have secured three points for Southampton had it not been for Robin van Persie's last-minute equaliser, which maintained Arsenal's position at the top of the Premier League.

Rory John Delap (born 6 July 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Born in England, he made 11 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.

He was one of several promising players who came through the ranks at Brunton Park during the mid-1990s, alongside Matt Jansen, Scott Dobie and Lee Peacock.

In 1997, he was part of the side which gained promotion to Division Two and defeated Colchester United on penalties to win the Football League Trophy at Wembley Stadium.

Delap started his career at Carlisle United and impressed enough to earn a move to Premiership side Derby County in 1998.

Delap was signed by Derby County manager Jim Smith for £200,000 in February 1998, and went on to make 13 appearances during the remainder of the 1997–98 season.

Despite failing to score a league goal during the 1998–99 season, he did manage to find the net in a second round League Cup tie with Manchester City.

During the 1999–00 season he was Derby's top scorer with eight goals.

His first goal of the campaign came during a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal.

After scoring his second goal of the season in a 2–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, his third came during a 3–3 stalemate with his future club Southampton.

A 3–1 home victory over Chelsea saw Delap score two goals and increase his tally to five, while it was just two games later when he scored against eventual champions Manchester United in a 2–1 loss at Pride Park.

Later that season, Delap scored and assisted a goal in a 3–0 win over Leicester City - a game in which Stan Collymore broke his leg.

His eighth and final goal of the campaign came after just 22 seconds of a 4–4 draw with Bradford City, although he was later sent off for conceding one of four penalties.

During the 2000–01 season, Delap once again scored against both Leicester and Bradford.

He scored his final goal for Derby in a 1–0 victory over Ipswich Town on 2 December 2000, which brought his total league tally to 11.

In 2001, Delap joined Southampton for a club record of £4 million.

After spending five years on the south coast, he moved to Sunderland.

On 10 July 2001, Southampton signed Delap for a fee of £4 million.

Delap's first goal for Southampton came during a 3–1 victory over Ipswich Town at Portman Road on 2 March 2002.

It was later that month when he scored his first goal at St Mary's in a 1–1 draw with Fulham.

Although Delap failed to score during the 2002–03 campaign, he made a total of 30 appearances in all competitions and helped Southampton reach the 2003 FA Cup Final, despite missing The Game due to an ankle injury.

Although they narrowly lost to Arsenal after Robert Pires scored the only goal of The Game, the Gunners had already qualified for the Champions League after finishing second in the Premier League, therefore Southampton qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Their UEFA Cup campaign was short-lived, after a 1–1 draw with Steaua București at St. Mary's was followed by a 1–0 away defeat on 15 October 2003.

Delap played in both legs.

Delap's third goal for Southampton and arguably the best of his career, was a spectacular bicycle kick in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 27 March 2004.

Following a brief spell on Wearside, Delap was loaned to Stoke City in October 2006.

In just his second match for Stoke, against his parent club Sunderland, Delap suffered a broken leg.

Despite this, Delap signed a permanent contract for Stoke in January 2007.

He went on to become a vital member of the squad and his long throw-ins helped Stoke gain promotion to the Premier League and consolidate in the league.

In the process he not only became Stuart Gray's first signing since replacing Glenn Hoddle as manager, but also Southampton's record transfer - a tag he held onto for almost 11 years, before they signed Jay Rodriguez from Burnley for £7 million on 10 June 2012.

Prior to Delap's arrival, his former club Carlisle received £700,000 from the deal.

After spending six seasons at Stoke, Delap had short spells with Barnsley and Burton Albion before retiring in December 2013.

A midfielder by trade, he was renowned for his long throw-in ability.

Between the touchlines, he was famed for his fitness and work rate, which gave him a valuable role in breaking up opposition play.

Delap was a talented javelin thrower in his youth, and was touted to represent Ireland in the Olympics after his throw-ins shot to prominence following Stoke's promotion to the Premier League.

After finishing his playing career, Delap returned to his former club Derby County where he began his coaching career.

After coaching the club's under-18 team, he replaced Darren Wassall as the under-21 head coach in February 2016, winning the U21 Premier League 1 Division 2 title in his first season in charge.