Pierre van Hooijdonk paid tribute to “unbelievable” Rangers rival Andy Goram. The legendary Ibrox No.1 built his legacy on his Old Firm performances - with his iconic November 1995 save from the Dutchman widely regarded as the best derby stop of all time.
Goram - who died on Saturday aged 58 - pulled off an incredible point-blank block to prevent van Hooijdonk from volleying Tommy Burns’ swashbuckling Hoops in front at Ibrox. The Holland striker had the final say on a 3-3 thriller as he finally beat the Light Blues No.1 with a late header to secure a draw for his team.
But 26 years on he admits he’s still haunted by THAT save as he hailed Goram as one of the best shot-stoppers he has ever faced. The former Parkhead ace told Record Sport: “During your playing career you are rivals and we both tried to do our best for our clubs. Andy was a very, very good goalkeeper at that time for Rangers.
“He was not the most athletic goalkeeper but his saves were unbelievable. He did a great job for Rangers and their fans loved him. He was one of the best goalies that I came across. It’s sad news to learn of his death."
The 1995 clash was 20 minutes into the second half and locked at 2-2 when Tosh McKinnley picked out van Hooijdonk in the box. But as the Hoops faithful crammed into the Broomloan Road end behind Goram rose to their feet in anticipation, Goram threw himself to his left to pull off a save that has gone down in Old Firm legend.
“For me it’s a strange one because I still blame myself,” said van Hooijdonk. “From a goalkeeper’s point of view, it’s a fantastic save.
“But for me as a striker, it should have been a goal. It was close range, I had good contact but I didn’t put it in the corner.
“That’s why I blame myself. But if you look at the movement from Andy it was fantastic as well. It would be easy to say it was only down to Andy but then I wouldn’t be critical of myself.
“I should have done a bit better and then it would have been a goal. Andy dives in the way but I hit him. Normally it would have been a goal but Andy had the luck.”
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