Football: Goalkeeper's header breaks Benevento's 14-match losing streak

Benevento goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli, left, celebrates after scoring the equalizer at the end of the Italian Serie A soccer match between Benevento and AC Milan. photo / AP.

Benevento broke a 14-match losing streak in the most dramatic fashion when their goalkeeper scored a stunning 95th-minute equaliser against AC Milan.

The newly promoted Italian Serie A side were on track for yet another reverse until Alberto Brignoli went up for a last-minute free-kick with his side trailing Milan 2-1 at home.

Diving full-stretch, Brignoli got his head to the ball and sent it flying into the right corner of the net. Cue pandemonium from his teammates.

Brignoli, who is on loan at Benevento from giants Juventus, said the team had been going through a difficult time.

"I was thinking: 'It's 2-1, the 95th minute, we have nothing to lose.' I went up there, closed my eyes and jumped," Brignoli told reporters after the game.

"It would have been terrible to lose this, as we've lost so many at the last second that we really didn't deserve to. Today we got some of that [luck] back. We've shown that we can play against anyone and just need the incidents to go our way."

But while it was manna from heaven for Brignoli and Benevento, for AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso it was something else entirely.

Gattuso, taking charge in his first game, said: "A knife wound would have been less painful than that goal."

Brignoli became the first goalkeeper to score in the Italian first division since Massimo Taibi for Reggina in 2001.

AC Milan had the lead through goals to Giacomo Bonaventura and Nikola Kalinic. George Puscas was the scorer of Benevento's first goal