Entertainment

Watch Gateshead’s kitman score a screamer from the halfway line

The Bensham Beckham, anyone?
The Bensham Beckham, anyone? The Bensham Beckham, anyone?

A kitman-cum-footballer lit up the Durham FA Challenge Cup this week with a goal reminiscent of one of David Beckham’s finest.

Gateshead FC midfielder JJ O’Donnell was given the role of kit manager to keep him involved while recovering from a rare foot condition, and it’s a position he still holds today.

The National League side were 3-0 up against Billingham Town during the cup competition when O’Donnell hammered a shot from the halfway-line to put the cherry on the cake.

The 26-year-old’s effort sent the club’s social media team into a spin, and rightly so.

Meanwhile O’Donnell’s teammates weren’t feeling quite so happy for their colleague, who will rightly be telling this story for a long time to come.

Goals from this far out are regularly compared to former Manchester United midfielder Beckham’s effort against Wimbledon in 1996.

How does O’Donnell’s effort compare?