Fleetwood Town defender Conor Haughey scored the winning penalty in a 5-3 shootout victory over Premier League champions Arsenal in the Carabao Cup last-16 tie at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The 19-year-old centre-back's emphatic spot-kick into the top corner sparked a pitch invasion and sent the League Two side into the quarter-finals, marking one of the biggest shocks in the competition's history.
Haughey described the aftermath as surreal, with his phone flooded with messages for hours. His post-match interview, filled with raw emotion and expletives, quickly went viral on social media.
"There was too many emotions going on, it was just wild. I'm from the New Lodge, I've been brought up like that and it just came out," Haughey told BBC Sport NI. "It's been like a dream. I woke up this morning and was like 'this actually is real'. It's unbelievable and a surreal moment."
Fleetwood's game plan held firm after Viktor Gyokeres cancelled out Aaron Loupalo-Bi's opener. Goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved a tame effort from Bruno Guimaraes before Haughey stepped up as the fifth taker to seal the win.
The Northern Ireland Under-21 international, who became Glentoran's youngest debutant at age 15 in 2022 before joining Fleetwood in 2023, said the magnitude of the upset has yet to fully sink in.
"It's not really hit me yet. I'm here playing Fifa and some of the Arsenal players are in my team. It's just mad," he added. Haughey said he would like to face Manchester City in the quarter-final draw.
