The Knowledge has taken a step beyond the familiar question of scoring with a first touch on debut. This week’s inquiry, emailed by Richard Askham, concerns players who have scored with the very first touch of their professional careers. Askham’s prompt was Jamie Spencer, the 17-year-old who made his first first-team appearance in a competitive match for Huddersfield at Doncaster on 9 September in the EFL Trophy. Spencer came on as a substitute in the 66th minute and scored with his second touch of the ball: one to control it, the second to score. Could anyone beat that by scoring with their first?
The column noted that a variation of the question was covered in 2021, looking at players who scored with their first touch on debut for a new club. Several answers from that piece also apply to the stricter version. They include Jack Aitchison for Celtic in 2016, Matt Hatch for Central Coast Mariners in 2021, Michael Ricketts for Walsall against Brighton in 1996, Maheta Molango for Brighton against Reading in August 2004, and Yan Dhanda for Swansea City at Sheffield United in 2018.
Alan Smith is another name put forward. His first touch as a professional footballer resulted in a goal for Leeds United at Anfield. With Leeds 1-0 down, Smith came off the bench and equalised with his first touch in front of the Kop two minutes later. Leeds went on to win the controversial match 3-1, which was Gérard Houllier’s first game in sole charge of Liverpool.
Raphael Meade managed the feat in September 1981, coming on as a substitute for Arsenal against Panathinaikos and scoring with his very first touch. It came in the Uefa Cup and was a bicycle kick. The Daily Express reported: ‘Kenny Samson provided the cross from the left and Meade, with his back to goal, beat keeper Konstantinou all ends up.’
Luke Medley’s example came in 2007, on his professional debut for Bradford. He was 18 years and two months old, and in an early-season game against a Wrexham side who finished the season bottom of the fourth tier, he came on in the 76th minute. Two minutes later he scored a stunning half-volley with his first touch in professional football. Ibra Sekajja also scored with his first touch on his professional debut, for Crystal Palace against Hull in 2011; his 88th-minute equaliser helped Palace retain their Championship status.
Elsewhere in the column, Mykola Kozlenko extended the search for poorly rated stadiums to Europe. The lowest listed is Nyva Stadium in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, with 2.7 stars from 12 reviews. It is the home of third-tier FC Nyva Vinnytsia and was rebuilt two years ago, but has proved unpopular: amateur athletes cannot train there any more, locals object to stands standing 20 metres from the nearest residential complex (ironically named Family Comfort), and fans dislike a small, soulless stadium with an artificial pitch instead of the old 24,000-seat Central City Stadium. Other entries include Avanhard Stadium in Rivne, Ukraine (3.4 stars, 142 reviews), Dens Park in Dundee (3.7 stars, 804 reviews), Almondvale in Livingston (3.7 stars, 432 reviews), Kampi Nacional Hajvali in Pristina, Kosovo (3.7 stars, 7 reviews), The Oval in Belfast (3.8 stars, 490 reviews) and Stade Jos Nosbaum in Dudelange, Luxembourg (3.8 stars, 135 reviews).
Three in a crowd: Brian Brobbey scored a hat-trick against Manchester City and ended up on the losing side. The column said Brobbey’s was the sixth Premier League hat-trick scored in vain and the first in almost 20 years. The last man to achieve it was Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz in December 2007, who dragged Blackburn back from 3-0 down only for Wigan’s Marcus Bent to score two more goals and complete his own hat-trick. The first two were by Matt Le Tissier, on the final day of the inaugural season and the opening day of 1995-96. Dion Dublin’s was described as the cruellest: he is the only man to put his team in front on three different occasions and still lose. The full list also includes Dwight Yorke for Aston Villa against Newcastle in 1996-97.
Finally, the Knowledge archive revisited Spain’s possession record. In 2012, the question was when Spain last did not have more possession than the opposition in a full match. The answer then was 61 games earlier, in the Euro 2008 final, when Germany edged them 52% to 48%, though Spain still won 1-0. A 2026 update notes that only one competitive match since that final has seen Spain not have the lion’s share of possession: the 3-0 victory over Croatia at Euro 2024. Sid Lowe’s introduction at the Olympiastadion in Berlin read: ‘For the first time in 137 games, Spain did not complete as many passes as their opponents, and they could not be happier.’ Spain went on to win Euro 2024, beating England 2-1 in the final with 63% possession.