It was a heartwarming moment
Crawley Town hero Nick Tsaroulla was left visibly emotional after his side dumped Leeds United out of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Tsaroulla scored the first goal of the game, marauding forward from left-back to fire past the hapless Kiko Casilla in goal for Leeds.
Crawley’s lead was extended just three minutes later when Ashley Nadesan fired past Casilla at his near post. Again, the Spaniard’s goalkeeping was questionable, but you couldn’t fault Crawley for carving open successive goalscoring opportunities against the Premier League big boys.
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Jordan Tunnicliffe added a third for the hosts when a shot was parried into his path. After the match, Tsaroulla became emotional when being interviewed by the BBC.
A product of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, the 21-year-old has already fought back from a number of setbacks in his career.
He faced a year out of football in 2017 due to a car accident. He was then released by Spurs at the end of the 2017-18 season.
"It's been a long, hard road for me."
And what a day it is for Nick Tsaroulla and Crawley 🙌
Watch reaction LIVE on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and online: https://t.co/3BWQ4LOYgI #bbcfacup #FACup pic.twitter.com/sxa9eNLNci
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 10, 2021
“Yeah [I enjoyed it], I’m buzzing.
“What a team performance that was – I’m over the moon. I’m not sure [what was going through my head when I had the ball].
“I kind of just lost myself in the moment there.
“It has been a long, hard road for me and it’s a great moment. I’m really proud.”
With his voice beginning to break, Tsaroulla admitted: “I’m getting a bit emotional now, um… It has been a tough road and it means a lot, that win.”
BBC pundit Jermaine Jenas said he appreciated the emotion displayed by Tsaroulla in his post-match interview.
Jenas said: “It was really nice. You tend to forget at times the journeys a lot of these players are going through.
“When you actually – physically – see somebody almost break down mid-interview because of that journey they’ve been on.
“Moments like today, that goal that he scored – it’s so special to him and hopefully something that can give him a load of confidence moving forward in his career now.”
