Nick Tsaroulla breaks down in tears in BBC interview after goal against Leeds

Nick Tsaroulla celebrates his goal for Crawley against Leeds United.

The youngster’s sublime solo strike sent the underdogs on their way to a third round cup upset after a 3-0 win over the Premier League side.

Tsaroulla turned away from two Leeds players before driving into the box to fire a left-footed effort past Kiko Casilla and set his team on their way to an unforgettable win.

It was Tsaroulla’s first goal for the Reds after joining them this season, and produced an emotional response from the 21-year-old who has battled back from a number of setbacks in his career.

He was on the books at Tottenham from the age of 12, but was released in 2018, having been involved in a serious car crash the year earlier that forced him to take a year out of the game.

The midfielder was then picked up by Brentford in 2019 and played for their B team before joining Crawley in October on a one-year contract and he showed how much the win meant to him with a tear-filled interview after the game.

“It was an amazing team perfrmance and everyone is buzzing,” he said. "It’s worth it.

“I’m getting a bit emotional now. It’s been a tough road and it means a lot.”

The interview was then ended with Tsaroulla choking up. BBC pundit Jermaine Beckford said: “It shows the raw emotion and what it really means to these players.”