Rubin Colwill has been named the first ever winner of the EFL's new 'Goal Hero of the Month' award, recognising his stoppage-time free-kick equaliser against Wrexham. The 24-year-old stepped up in the 98th minute at the Cardiff City Stadium with the home side 1-0 down in an all-Welsh Championship clash, after Kieffer Moore had opened the scoring.
With one swing of his right boot, Colwill fired the ball into Anthony Patterson's top left corner to spark delirium in the stands. The new monthly award from The EFL and sponsor Compare the Market celebrates the most memorable goals that have special stories behind them.
A moment to remember
Colwill said: "It's great to win this award. At the time it was a great moment, really special, and to get recognition for that is really nice. It was an unbelievable feeling, a great moment for all the fans in the stadium, for the boys, for the team. It was one of those things that you just wait for in your career."
He added: "Once I knew it was a free kick, it was about getting myself in the right mental frame, right headspace to perform the right action, and to just calm myself down and be decisive for what I wanted to do. Thankfully I executed."
"Being 1-0 down can be a bit of a killer, but then to score an equaliser hopefully left all the fans in good spirits and they had a good week after that. Hopefully I cheered everyone up."
Boyhood dream with brother Joel
Born in Neath, the midfielder has represented Cardiff City since he was just eight years old, alongside his younger brother Joel. Colwill has played for Wales on ten occasions, including at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but missed out on manager Craig Bellamy's upcoming selection due to injury. 21-year-old Joel has appeared twice for the Red Dragons so far in his career.
Rubin said: "We've grown up together, trained every day together, spent loads of time together, travelling to and from training, and we both feel really, really grateful that we get to carry on playing together, and to both be living our dreams playing for our home town club."
He continued: "It probably makes it extra special, really. This is my club - I've come through here the whole time, supported the club since I was a kid, so it's a dream come true to play for the club with my brother and my friends and come to work every day with all the great people. I'm very fortunate."
Recognition and rewards
Colwill played a huge part in Cardiff's return to the Championship after finishing second in League One last season, and will hope he can propel them to further heights. Each month, The EFL and Compare the Market will reveal the winner of the Goal Hero of the Month as decided by an expert panel that includes former EFL striker Robert Earnshaw. As well as this monthly celebration of the EFL's most memorable goals, fans have the chance to win a range of EFL rewards across the season via the Compare the Market app.
