Jordi van Stappershoef overcame family tragedy to be Bristol Rovers’ unlikely hero deep into stoppage time on Saturday.
The Dutchman’s fiancée’s grandfather recently died, but COVID travel and isolation regulations would have forced him to miss several games for the Gas had he travelled home to mourn with his loved ones.
The back-up goalkeeper was granted leave by the club, but opted to stay in Bristol and remain part of the club’s relegation battle.
With 93 minutes played on Saturday, van Stappershoef certainly thought his afternoon was over and he would not be needed from the bench, but Joe Day took a boot to the face with the score at 2-1 and was forced off.
With a corner to defend, the 24-year-old took his place between the posts with a corner to defence and one minute to survive. Rovers cleared, but the ball came back and Dave Edwards sent a header on target.
But the outstretched hand of the Dutchman batted the ball away and the final whistle arrived, sparking jubilant celebrations with the keeper mobbed by his teammates as the Gas pulled two points clear of the relegation zone.
He later received an ovation in the dressing room, and Gas boss Joey Barton believes it was fully deserved.
“We said to the lads when we came in that if we’re going to get the job done, if we’re going to climb Everest and get the club where we need to get it, everyone’s going to be involved,” the manager said.
“That’s the sense of team spirit you’ve got to build. It’s not just about the 11, you see over the course of a 46-game campaign everyone has to be involved, whether it’s for one minute or for every single game.
“You have to perform and credit to Jordi. He’s had a bit of a tough period. His girlfriend's grandfather passed away recently, and being here he has not been able to do what you normally would do had there not been a pandemic.
“I’m really pleased for him, delighted, and the lads gave him a massive round of applause in the dressing room.
“You’re a goalkeeper, you could be thinking it’s 90 minutes and I won’t be called upon, but it shows his mental state how he was ready to come on and make that save.
“If they scored that goal, it would’ve been daylight robbery. Let’s be honest, they didn’t deserve it. They got dominated for 91 minutes and credit to them, they kept knocking on the door.
“That will do our confidence the world of good.”
Clarification: Joey Barton said in his press conference on Saturday Jordi van Stappershoef's partner's father had died. Bristol Live verified this with the club, which confirmed the information to be true. Bristol Live was later contacted by the deceased's family after the story was published to politely request a correction to clarify it was in fact van Stappershoef's partner's grandfather who had died. Bristol Live apologises for the confusion.
