For any father, the birth of a child is one of the best moments of their life. For any footballer, scoring a goal at Anfield to earn a point for your club is one of the best moments of their career.
Combine the two and put a few hours in between, and you have Russell Martin‘s day.
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]
The Norwich City captain was in Liverpool yesterday when he got a call that his wife was going into labor with their third child. He drove through the night back to Norwich, where his wife gave birth to a baby boy early this morning.
He then hopped on a plane back up to Liverpool, took the pitch and scored an equalizer for his side, as the Canaries left Anfield with a point after finishing with a 1-1 draw.
Russell Martin: "It's been pretty hectic. I got a call last night at 8. My wife had a boy at 9.30 this morning. An amazing day." #ncfc
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) September 20, 2015Russell Martin: "It's a great story to tell my little boy when he's older. Fortunately I was able to play the game too!" #ncfc
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) September 20, 2015Despite not getting any sleep, Martin showed some great skill on his goal, controlling with his chest before putting a delicate flick over Simon Mignolet. He honored his newborn son with his celebration, running to the corner while pretending to cradle a baby.
The Canaries still have 32 games to play this season, and Martin’s career will go on much longer than that, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll have a more memorable moment than his goal at Anfield today.