Hull City star Jaden Philogene appears to have been denied a Puskas-worthy goal due to a minor deflection. The touch from a Rotherham defender means his sensational solo goal will officially be ruled as an own goal. The winger found the back of the net from an acute angle with a rabona on Tuesday night but has seen the credit for the unbelievable effort snatched from him.
Championship strugglers Rotherham, who sit at the bottom of the table, took a shock lead against Liam Rosenior’s Hull through Christ Tiehi. The 25-year-old saw his half-volley from outside of the box take a deflection to give the Millers the lead after just four minutes.
Hull pushed to equalise before the break but struggled to test Rotherham goalkeeper Viktor Johansson. However, the Swedish shot-stopper was left with no chance when Philogene produced a moment of magic in the 71st minute to make it 1-1.
After receiving the ball on the right, the 22-year-old drove into the Rotherham penalty area before flicking the ball through the legs of Oliver Rathbone. Philogene then took a touch near the by-line before faking a cross, fooling Rathbone into attempting to make a block, before cutting the ball back onto his left foot.
Players from both sides then anticipated that the England Under-21 international was set to deliver a cross, but the winger had other ideas. Using his right foot, Philogene dinked a chipped rabona shot over the reach of Johansson and into the back of the net.
Hull players and supporters were both equally astonished by the solo goal, though they will be disappointed to learn that the No. 23 has not been credited with his moment of genius. Instead, it has been ruled as an own goal as the shot took a deflection off of Cameron Humphreys whilst on its way towards goal.
Hull went on to win the match 2-1 and climb up to seventh place in the table and within touching distance of the play-offs, with Noah Ohio coming off of the bench to score the all-important goal for The Tigers in the 75th minute.
Manager Rosenior will be relying on Philogene to continue producing the goods if his side are to return to the Premier League, though Hull will run the risk of losing the playmaker if they do earn promotion.
During negotiations to sign Philogene from Aston Villa in the summer as part of a £5million deal, a buy-back clause was agreed upon in the region of £15m which can be activated if Hull are a top-flight club.
Villa cannot activate the clause if an increased offer from elsewhere is on the table. For example if a rival submits a £20m offer, they would simply have first refusal at that price instead.