The throw-in comes into the box. Bounces once, twice. A defender clears it with his foot, sending it looping out toward the edge of the penalty area where Raheem Jabar is waiting.
The ball drops from about 30 yards out. Raheem doesn't hesitate. He lets it settle, sets himself, and hits it with his right foot.
The contact is perfect. The ball rockets toward goal, rising fast, curling slightly. The goalkeeper sees it late, dives, and stretches. The ball slams into the top corner where the crossbar meets the post, so hard that the net barely moves.
Goal. Queens Park Crescents FC 1-0 up against Stopsley in the Bedfordshire Premier Division.
Raheem knew it the moment his foot made contact.
"I just remember the ball getting headed out from the throw-in, and as soon as I saw it bouncing towards me from about 30/35 yards out, immediately I knew 'I'm gonna hit this', and I just caught it sweet," Raheem says.
Sweet is one word for it. Clinical might be another. The kind of strike where technique and timing align so perfectly that the result is inevitable before the ball even reaches the goal.
The feeling afterwards
Most amateur footballers score goals that exist only in memory and the stories they tell afterwards. No proof, just the recollection of teammates and opponents who were there.
Raheem's goal was recorded on Veo. He's watched it back several times since that match.
"We're not professionals, but seeing a goal that goes in and then being able to watch it as many times as you want afterwards is a good feeling," Raheem says.
"I watched the footage a few times just to see how it looks on camera. It looks different on the pitch compared to on camera. I just think what a hit," Raheem says.
Submitted for recognition
Raheem's goal has been submitted for this year's People's Puskas, which spotlights the best goals scored away from the biggest arenas.
"It gives me a great feeling that my goal is nominated for an award. It makes me feel proud of myself," Raheem says.
Queens Park Crescents FC were playing in the Bedfordshire Premier Division, Step 7 of the English football pyramid. The match ended 2-1 to Stopsley, but some strikes transcend the scoreline. That moment when Raheem caught it sweet and buried it in the top corner belongs to him regardless of the result.
The value of perspective
Beyond the spectacular moments, having matches recorded gives players something else. The chance to study their own game from the outside.
"It's always nice to be able to review your own footage and see yourself from the perspective of what everybody else sees," Raheem says. "It's also nice to review your overall game and find little improvements in yourself that you can work on."
That perspective matters just as much at Step 7 as it does at the Premier League level. Players want to improve. They want to see the runs they should have made, the passes they missed, the positioning that let them down. They also want to see the moments when everything fell into place.
Raheem has both now. The goal that proved he can hit volleys from distance with accuracy and power. The footage that shows him exactly how it looked from the outside.
The professional game has access to analysis tools and video review as standard. At the grassroots level, that access changes how players approach their development. Raheem can see what everybody else saw. He can break down the technique. He can identify the improvements.
He can also just appreciate the quality of the strike.
The moment of decision
The best goals often come from instinct rather than calculation. Raheem saw the clearance coming his way and immediately knew what he was going to do.
No overthinking. No second-guessing. Just the space, the distance, and the decision made before the ball even reached him.
Then he hit it. Right foot, perfect contact, top corner. The goalkeeper is diving but never getting close. The ball was moving too fast, placed too well, and struck too clean.
That's the moment Raheem can watch back as many times as he wants. The instinct that told him to shoot. The technique that made it work. The execution that separated a decent strike from something worth submitting for the People's Puskas.
The match ended 2-1 to Stopsley, but the quality of the strike stands independent of the scoreline. From distance, first-time, top corner. The goalkeeper with no chance despite his best effort.
Beat that.
