Unless you are injured, a goalkeeper getting substituted in a game can be a very embarrassing scenario for the player. If that substitution happens after three minutes, it can become a nightmare.
Luckily for Bradford City goalkeeper Colin Doyle, it was part of a plan, when his team found a loophole in the competition rules.
.@ColinDoyle01 goes off with a clean sheet intact after 2 minutes! #bcafc pic.twitter.com/02lvSsEQX3
— Simon Parker (@ParkerTandA) October 4, 2016
Playing in an EFL Trophy Group C Northern Section game against Bury, Doyle was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Rouven Sattelmaier, despite not suffering from an injury. New rules for the tournament state that five first-team players must play in each match.
What the rules do not state, is the goalkeepers cannot be substituted early in the match. On Wednesday morning, Doyle was nominated for the League One September Player of the Month, such is his standing at Bradford.
Doyle, Morris, Taylor, Vaughan - @SkyBetLeagueOne Player of the Month nominations >> https://t.co/RRqJpDlASA pic.twitter.com/Iu7ijMkBjK
— Sky Bet League One (@SkyBetLeagueOne) October 5, 2016
In the post-match report of Bradford City's website, it was claimed that Sattelmaier "came on for some much needed game time."
Bradford City won the game 2-1. They have now won their opening two games in the competition and top the Group C Northern Section.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.