Will Grigg: Wigan striker's winner against Man City nets NI fan £1,600 in 325-1 bet

A lucky Northern Ireland football fan is celebrating after Will Grigg's glorious match-winning goal for Wigan Athletic against Manchester City netted him a whopping £1,630.
Northern Ireland striker Will Grigg and Neil Gray with his winning betNorthern Ireland striker Will Grigg and Neil Gray with his winning bet
Northern Ireland striker Will Grigg and Neil Gray with his winning bet

Newtownabbey man Neil Gray, an Everton fan and a regular at Windsor Park for Northern Ireland games, took a punt on Grigg hitting the target and the League One side securing an unlikely 1-0 win against the Premier League leaders in Monday night’s FA Cup tie.

He placed the £5 wager with Sky Bet at odds of 325/1, but says it was a bet placed more in hope than expectation.

“I just stuck a fiver on as Will Grigg was playing, but I didn’t expect it to come up,” Neil said.

“Even after Grigg scored I still expected City to equalise or even go on to win. They were all over Wigan, so the last ten minutes or so were a bit of a sweat. I couldn’t believe they held on to win. It’s just unbelievable.

“It’s nice to win a few quid, but I suppose now that it’s going in the paper I’ll have to tell the wife!”

The 39-year-old father-of-two, who works as a transport planner for a local haulage firm and plays rugby for Mallusk-based Ophir RFC, said the money will go towards the cost of a family holiday this summer.

Keen to see Grigg back playing for Northern Ireland, Neil added: “It was a great goal and showed again that Grigg is a quality striker. Michael O’Neill really needs to get him back in the Northern Ireland squad. It would be great to see him playing for Northern Ireland again.”