Bradford City's Andy Cook goes from hell to heaven following the footsteps of a Newcastle United 'god'

Football is full of hyperbole but when Cook, with emotion in his voice, talked about going through "hell" after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on New Year's Day, you totally believed him.

So Wednesday must have been heaven.

In Newcastle, football really is as close as you can get to religion and at the cathedral on the hill that is St James' Park, Alan Shearer is a god.

For a boyhood Newcastle United fan like Cook to come off the bench in his first appearance there and smash a very Shearer-like goal was the stuff dreams are made of – or perhaps beyond them.

"We scored the goal of the night," said manager Graham Alexander.

That it almost felt inevitable for the 28 days since the teams were drawn together did nothing to dilute it, nor the fact it came in a 4-1 defeat.

Cook must have dreamt a million times of scoring at St James', just not during his rehabilitation.

"No, no," he insisted. "I mentally struggled sometimes. I never saw a night like this, I'll be honest. But I did see myself coming back.

"It was long, lonely times in the gym, running on your own. From getting promoted to going away with the lads to straight back in, basically on your own training."

When it was suggested his finish was Shearer-esque, he responded: "I'll take that!"

Like every football-loving Geordie in their mid-30s, Shearer was his idol – "100 per cent. Of course" – but in Cook's case an inspiration too.

\When Shearer tore his ACL at Elland Road in December 1992 his next goal came at St James'. Cook got two on his comeback – this was match three – but a Football League Trophy tie with Grimsby Town is not quite the same as a League Cup game in front of 51,249.

"I did read up on players who had previously done their ACLs and I'd seen Shearer and the likes of Zlatan (Ibrahimovic)," said Cook.

"I'd never been injured in my career – a long injury – so it was, 'How do I come back from it?' I read up on things. I think it helped a little bit. There's quotes about how mentally challenging it is from Shearer.

"I thought, 'Why can't I knuckle down and come back the same player?' Hopefully I'm not far off."

But it was tough.

"It's been hell," he said. "I hope this is a sign my year is turning round.

"When they made the draw I still wasn't available, I was still injured.

"Before the draw I was asking the physios: 'When will I be back playing? What game?' When I got the chance against Grimsby, I knew I was on the road to getting minutes.

"This was obviously in the back of my mind, hoping to be involved.

"I played in a behind-closed-doors game and landed on my knee. I was a bit shocked, but it was fine."

His goal made the night for everyone of a Bradford persuasion.

"I can't think of many times in my career when I've smiled on the sidelines when I've been losing the game, but that one gave me a smile when I caught eyes with Cookie's," said Alexander. "I caught him beaming."

In football it's the hope that kills you, but Wednesday's teamsheets kept supporter hopes low.

Bradford had no Josh Nuefville, Antoni Sarcevic, Will Swan or Tyreik Wright. Newcastle rotated too, but still had Anthony Gordon, Anthony Elanga, Joelinton and brilliant Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes. The supporting cast were pretty handy too.

When Newcastle scored twice in as many first-half minutes through Joelinton and Will Osula, you worried but it took until the final 15 to score again, through the same pair.

But it needed a Bradford goal. A Cook goal.

When Lewis Miley tried a risky pass out from the back at 3-0, Tommy Leigh put his head in the way and laid a pass to substitute Cook.

"It hit me and just dropped and I thought, 'Here's my chance,’” he said. "It hit the bar and I thought, I don't know if that's going to work," said Cook. "When I saw it hit the top of the roof of the net, I was buzzing.

"It felt as though it took its time to hit the floor and then hit the roof of the net. I'm over the moon."

Not just him.

With just two letters different, the song that reverberated around the ground when Cook was a toddler belted out: "He gets the ball, he scores a goal, Andy, Andy Cook."

"Everyone's buzzing for him because we know how special this club is to Cookie but he's got a massive bond with our club as well," said Alexander. "We needed to get back in the game. It wasn't a sympathy vote. It wasn't a reward for anything.

"I'd have preferred to have been winning and not bring him on. But I'm sure Cookie feels the other way.

"That's a goal he'll be talking about for the next 50 years, I expect."

A couple of questions later, Alexander came back to it: "I really do think he'll be talking about it for 50 years."