LONDON, Oct 10 — Ryan Wintle scored his first goal for Cardiff City when his free kick went in off the underside of the bar at Wigan over the weekend but he will thank his lucky stars as the crossbar was two inches higher than the regulation eight feet.
One goal frame’s crossbar at the DW Stadium was taller than the other and the difference in goal sizes was brought to the attention of the referee before the game.
British media reported club and match officials decided to press ahead with the game as neither team would gain an advantage since they switch sides at halftime, but Wintle’s late effort allowed Cardiff to win 3-1.
“One of the goals was two inches too high and their third goal goes in off the bar, so you do the maths,” Wigan manager Leam Richardson said.
“It just sums up the day for us, doesn’t it? It doesn’t help you in terms of preparing for a game, but it’s the same for both sides. It’s just coincidental that the killer third goal is one that probably bounces away at the other end.”
Two of Cardiff’s goals were scored at the end with the wrong-sized goal.
Cardiff’s caretaker boss Mark Hudson said they were told before the game the issue would take a couple of hours to fix, an outcome no one wanted with fans already in the stadium.
“I did ask if we could attack that end in both halves but they weren’t having that,” Hudson added with a smile.
Reuters has contacted the English Football League for comment. — Reuters
