Footy mad Cumbrian exile, and athome chief sub, Lynne Maxwell, has a passion for lower league football, particularly Carlisle United. This week, as promised, she reveals how her 'date' with a certain Mr Jimmy Glass unfolded.

So there I was, sat in Pizza Express in Carlisle city centre with Blues legend, Jimmy Glass. Now, bear in mind this is a guy who would never have to buy a pint in Cumbria ever again after saving the club with his last-gasp goal, and here he was buying ME dinner! Unbelievable.

I vaguely remember perusing the menu wondering what the hell I could eat without A: getting whatever it was down my chin and looking an absolute fool in front of SIR Jimmy, or B: actually being able to stomach anything in his presence! I went for the chicken caesar salad, lame, I know. Glass went for some sort of spicy pizza with extra jalapenos (I'm not sure why this useless bit of detail sticks in my memory, but I thought I'd share it with you). We ordered cokes and got down to business, so to speak, while every 10 minutes a fan came to our table to ask for his autograph. I had a feeling this would happen.

It was a bit awkward at first, and it was Glass who began asking me questions about why I was studying journalism and how long I had supported Carlisle United. After my boring answers, I relaxed a little, bit the bullet and asked him the inevitable. The question nearly every single person who met Glass after 8 May 1999. How did it feel? What was going through his head when Nigel Pearson encouraged him to go up for that final corner, was he always going to shoot when the ball fell at his feet, what it felt like to have hundreds of people piled on top of him after the final whistle? His answer? He can't remember. He has had to fill his memory of the moment based on video replays and other people's memories. That was my cue to tell him mine (see last week's column).

Guessing he's a little sick of talking about his goal, I asked him how life was treating him five years on. To my absolute amazement, he revealed he's a taxi driver. 'People don't recognise me,' he said. 'Even the Bournemouth guys who I'd played with for two years didn't. People don't expect Jimmy Glass to be driving a taxi.'

Since his famous spell at Carlisle, Glass spent time at 10 different clubs and trained or had trials with seven others. Rejections and setbacks were dished out and Glass realised he needed to find a job with a steady income. He became an IT salesman for a company in Dorset in August 2001 and remained there until early 2004, when he finally got a job as a taxi driver. He then declared to me that he has always wanted to be a barrister! 'If you want to get through life, you have to know the law. People are there to put you down, I have found that out in football,' he said.

Glass' autobiography, One Hit Wonder, which was part of the reason I was sat in Pizza Express with him that night, had thrust the famous goalkeeper back into the limelight. With a wife and two young children to look after, Glass got a bit deep. 'Everything around us is just material,' he said. 'They don't matter, what does matter is my family and being a father to my two children – it has really helped me put things into perspective.'

He hasn't turned his back on football completely, though. He now proudly calls himself a Carlisle fan and can often be found in the stands cheering them on. Other fans only too happy to be near their hero. He was standing in the Paddock at Brunton Park on 1 May 2004, to witness Carlisle's eventual exit from the Football League (we came back up the following season, mind!) when we lost to Cheltenham. 'It might sound a bit selfish, but I stood there thinking my goal would now count for nothing,' he said.

The ironic thing about Glass is that he always wanted to be a centre forward in football. He felt being a goalkeeper was a lonely position. 'There is nothing like being out there as a forward, running about on the pitch and scoring goals. People always ask me what advice I'd give to their son who wants to be a keeper. I say, be a striker instead.'

Who are we to argue with the man who scored one of Carlisle's most important goals of all time? And with that, I got out my copy of One Hit Wonder and asked him to sign it. He wished me luck, gave me a little kiss and sent me on my way. I was the envy of many a Carlisle fan that night, I'm sure.

Picture credit: rdpeyton

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More about the author

Footy mad Cumbrian exile, Lynne Maxwell, has a passion for lower league football. Despite being surrounded by high flying London Premier League clubs while based in the capital, she sticks to her roots by supporting home side, Carlisle United, and all that goes with it. Join Lynne each week as she shares the highs and lows of being part of the Blue Army.