More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Chatham keeper Dan Ellis unknowingly played on with a broken leg in their FA Vase tie against Corinthian.
Ellis was on the receiving end of what boss Scott Lindsey described as a "really bad challenge" during the first half of Saturday's fourth-round tie, which was goalless at the time.
He managed to continue - making a number of excellent saves, including a penalty - but Chats lost 2-1 after extra time.
He's Chatham's very own Bert Trautmann, the Manchester City goalkeeper who played on in the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck.
Lindsey said: "Dan had the ball securely in his hands and it's a really bad challenge.
"He was down for a long period of time, the physio got him to his feet and he sort of limped his way through the rest of the half.
"We got him in at half-time and strapped it up and I said to Dan to go out and keep moving because the longer you sit down, it will stiffen up and get worse.
"We wanted him to play on because, ironically, it's the first time since I've been here that we haven't had a keeper on the bench as Jordan Carey was playing dual-registration for VCD.
"Dan was in a hell of a lot of pain but he's a really strong character, he's a man's man and he showed great character to get through it.
"He was our best player, he made some unbelievable saves and he'll go down in history for what he did.
"It was just a shame we couldn't win the game for him.
"I've done it myself where I've broken my leg and played on.
"You feel the pain but in the chaos of the game you get through it."
A break was confirmed after the match while Ellis' return could be complicated by suspected ligament damage.
Ellis saved Luke Tanner's spot-kick early in the second half and Chatham took the lead through Jack Evans on 71 minutes.
But they conceded a second spot-kick four minutes later, converted by Oscar Housego, as the tie went to extra time.
Corinthian booked their place in the last 16 when Houesgo scored the winner on 112 minutes and Lindsey had no complaints.
He said: "Corinthian thoroughly deserved to go through and I wish them all the best in the next round.
"It was possibly the worst game of football I've seen in my life.
"We went through a full bag of balls just where it was kicked out of play time and time again.
"I've never seen so many throw-ins and such a stop-start game but I've got to give Corinthian credit because they came with a gameplan and their style of football beat ours.
"There's no right or wrong way to play, it's whoever gets their method right on the day.
"They did that, they're through, they win a lot of games and they've got a chance of going all the way."
