Roy Kabina Essandoh (born 17 February 1976) is a Northern Ireland former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He is best remembered for his last gasp FA Cup quarter final winner while with Wycombe Wanderers.

Early life

Born in Belfast, Essandoh moved with his family to Ghana (his father Richard's birthplace) when he was seven months old. When he was eight, the family moved back to Northern Ireland, where he attended school.

Career

Essandoh began his career at

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

when he was 18 years of age. Following a short spell at East Fife, he moved to Finland to play for

VPS Vaasa Vaasan Palloseura (or VPS) is a Finnish football club, based in Vaasa. It currently plays in the first tier of Finnish football (''Veikkausliiga''). The club's current manager is Jussi Nuorela. The club plays its home matches at Hietalahti. VP ...

until the turn of the new millennium when he returned to the United Kingdom. Upon his return, and after just a couple of games for

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side Rushden & Diamonds, followed the highlight of his career when somewhat extraordinarily Essandoh's agent responded to an appeal by Wycombe Wanderers manager Lawrie Sanchez looking for a fit, non-cup-tied striker the week before their FA Cup quarter-final match with Leicester City, which had been posted on the club's website and spotted by a journalist who published the story on the BBC's television text service Ceefax. Offered a two-week contract, Essandoh came on as a late substitute at Leicester's Filbert Street ground and scored a last-minute winning header to secure third-tier Wycombe a first-ever FA Cup semi-final place, against Liverpool. Essandoh's goal in the FA Cup quarter-final against Leicester City was voted the 76th best FA Cup moment ever in Andy Gray's ''FA Cup Madness''. It was however the only goal he scored for Wycombe, and he was released at the end of his first season in English football. After short stays at

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

(where he scored against Yeovil in the league and Bournemouth in the Football League Trophy), Cambridge City,

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

, Gravesend & Northfleet and

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

, Essandoh returned to

for an extended spell starting in 2005. In August 2010, Essandoh signed for St Neots Town, before signing for

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...

on 31 March 2011. On 6 July 2014 he played for Hemingford Veterans FC v Cambridge in a 5–2 win.

References

External links

*
Interview with Essandoh's mother

Roy Essandoh
at NonLeagueDaily {{DEFAULTSORT:Essandoh, Roy 1976 births Living people Association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate association footballers from Northern Ireland Cumbernauld United F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Vaasan Palloseura players Veikkausliiga players Billericay Town F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Finland Isthmian League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Men's association football forwards