Aiden O’Neill has made history by setting a new world record for the “longest time between goals in a single game”.
The new record comes in at an astonishing 156,956 minutes and will no doubt stand even longer.
It has been a season to remember for O’Neill, one that has seen Melbourne City’s midfield rock go from strength to strength and his impressive performances earning him his first international cap for Australia.
O’Neill opened the scoring in The Melbourne Derby on December 17th 2022 in the 11th minute, with a fine finish that capped off a brilliant link up with Dutch midfielder Richard van der Venne.
After the match was suspended, it was finally resumed nearly four months later on April 5th 2023. That’s right, the game was suspended for a whopping 110 days, making this record even more remarkable.
But O’Neill wasn’t finished yet. In the 57th minute of the resumed match, he scored his second goal, cementing his place in the history books.
The record-breaking moment caught the attention of Guinness World Records who are currently verifying his feat.
Melbourne City’s communications department were quick to get behind the push to crown O’Neill as the club’s first world record holder. So quick in fact they got the date wrong in their graphic.
The club’s graphic designer has vowed not to change the graphic until the feat is confirmed and O’Neill has received his plaque from Guinness World Records.
While some may view this record as a bit quirky, it is a testament to O’Neill’s perseverance and determination. It’s not easy to stay focused and motivated for that long, but O’Neill kept his eye on the prize, and his hard work paid off.
City fans will be hoping that O’Neill’s record-breaking performance will inspire even more goals in the future.
And speaking of the future, Melbourne City is next in action this Easter Monday against Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park from 4:00pm.
Kids go free this Monday as well! Simply use the code EASTERJUNIOR to unlock up to 3x junior GA tickets per 1x adult GA tickets.
Click here to get your tickets from Ticketek.
