What happened to Nick Culkin, whose Premier League career lasted just one kick

In August 1999, the full-time whistle blew on Manchester United's 2-1 win over Arsenal at Highbury.

Captain Roy Keane scored two second half goals to win the game for Sir Alex Ferguson's treble winners, after Dennis Bergkamp had given Arsenal the lead in the first half.

But United had it far from easy in the closing stages, with goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw forced off through injury.

And with Peter Schmeichel having left the club after United's treble triumph, the reserve goalkeeper for the Arsenal clash was 21-year-old Nick Culkin.

The York-born shot-stopper played for his home club into 1995, when he moved into United's youth system for a £100,000 fee. Four years on, Culkin was making his Premier League debut at Highbury.

But immediately after the goalkeeper took his first kick of the ball - a free kick awarded for the foul on Van der Gouw - the referee blew the full-time whistle.

For Culkin, that would be his first and only kick of a football in the Premier League.

After several loan spells away from Old Trafford, he joined Championship side QPR in 2002. After three seasons and 22 league appearances, he was forced to retire due to a knee injury at the age of just 26.

Culkin did return to non-league football in 2010, and played for Radcliffe and Prescot Cables before setting another record.

In 2014, he joined FC United of Manchester - the club set up in 2006 to oppose Malcolm Glazer's leveraged buyout takeover of Manchester United.

In playing for the Reds, Culkin became the first player to make a competitive appearance for both FC United and Manchester United.

After his professional playing days ended, Culkin set up his own gardening business, and told QPR's official website in 2012: "I fell into this work after helping out a friend a few years ago.

"I decided that I quite enjoyed being out in the fresh air. So I set my own business up and it has taken off. I maintain gardens on a regular basis and make them look nice."

What of his brief Premier League bow with United? In an article for the club's official website in 2019, he wrote: "Henning Berg, knowing that I've not had a warm-up, says to me: 'Nick, do you want me to take the free-kick?' Not. A. Chance. Nobody's taking this away from me.

"I'm thinking, as I'm running on, that there'll be three or four minutes of injury time, because of the stoppage for Raimond. 'I'll come for everything. Take pressure off the team. This is my chance'. I was so confident.

"I took the goal kick and pinged it clean, exactly where I was told to put it. Unfortunately or fortunately - unfortunately if you ask me - the game ended immediately.

"I celebrated like we'd won the World Cup. I ran off with my arm up like Alan Shearer! In my defence, the game had been so intense, so important, and we'd just won."

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