THERE ARE DEDICATED players and then there’s Roy Carroll.
The veteran goalkeeper was between the sticks for Northern Ireland last night as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Romania in Bucharest but according to BBC local radio, he caught a flight to London at 7am this morning.
From there, he picked up his car, drove the 90 minutes up the M40 and arrived at the Ricoh Arena to play for Notts County in their League One clash at Coventry.
Luckily enough for the 37 year-old, the opening period was pretty dull though it picked up after the interval. With less than 20 minutes to go, Garry Thompson scored to give County the lead and they managed to hang on and claim all three points.
Afterwards, County chairman Ray Trew spoke in glowing terms about the commitment and dedication Carroll had shown.
I can’t praise Roy highly enough. What he did went well above the call of duty, but epitomised everything that is right about Notts County at the moment. (County manager) Shaun Derry spoke of his desire to get the right sorts of player in this season and I think what Roy has done for this club today shows exactly what the manager meant.”
The win means County are in fourth place in the League One table, seven points off leaders Bristol City.
4. There’s nothing else on.