Liverpool fan won £25k after dreaming of iconic 125-1 moment

05 November 2023 , 07:00

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Xabi Alonso's strike against Luton in 2006 earned one fan £25k (Image: FA Cup)

On Sunday afternoon Liverpool head to Kenilworth Road to take on Premier League strugglers Luton Town.

When the the Reds travelled to the Bedfordshire club back in 2006 for an FA Cup third-round tie Luton, then in the Championship, threatened an almighty upset when they took a 3-1 lead in the second half, only for Liverpool to mount a comeback.

That revival was sealed with a goal from Xabi Alonso, who took advantage of the goalkeeper being out of position, by scoring from inside his own half. The Spaniard's goal would win one fan £25,000 after he placed a £200 bet following a dream he had about Alonso doing exactly that.

Reds fan Adrian Hayward dreamt in July that the classy midfielder would find the net from his own half and backed himself - placing a pricey bet which had odds of 125/1. He would wait six months until it came true with Alonso delivering.

Hayward said: "I've never placed such a large bet before but I had a feeling about it. I was watching the Luton match on TV with my family and I saw the keeper off his line. I was shouting 'Shoot!' and he did. It seemed to take an age to hit the net but when it did, I just went berserk."

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He made the bet with Paddy Power, who admitted: "When he placed the bet we thought it was the easiest £200 we had ever made. But fair play to him. It's great when these unusual bets pay out and it shows that dreams do come true."

The Liverpool score twice scored from his own half whilst at the Reds (FA Cup)

Alonso's strike capped a 5-3 win with the midfielder scoring the equaliser 20 minutes earlier. That scare at Luton would set Rafa Benitez's side on a run that ended with them lifting the FA Cup. En route they saw off Manchester United and Chelsea before beating West Ham United in a dramatic final in Cardiff.

Less than a year later Alonso was at it again, this time at Anfield against Newcastle. The Spaniard picked up the ball as Liverpool were on the break and ambitiously took a punt as the Reds attacked towards the Kop end. Steve Harper slipped as he ran back with the ball hitting the net.

"I was waiting for Alonso to pass and I would have spoken to him about it," Benitez admitted afterwards. "But after he scored I said to him 'good, fantastic goal'."

Samuel Meade