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Kalvin Phillips was one of several former Leeds United teammates to congratulate Adam Forshaw following his first goal in almost nine years on Saturday.

Forshaw opened the scoring as Blackburn Rovers beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0, producing a brilliant finish over goalkeeper Conor Hazard to put his side one up on 55 minutes. The 33-year-old was a Pilgrims player as early as last month before his contract was terminated, a decision which added extra spice on a personal level.

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The midfielder’s last goal came for Middlesbrough in April 2016, with a five-year spell at Leeds failing to produce a single effort, while shorter spells at Norwich City and Plymouth saw the drought extend. It seemed as though that final goal might never come but Forshaw got his chance to celebrate on Saturday, with his family in the stands to enjoy the moment as well.

Phillips’ Forshaw message

In a post on Instagram after the game, Forshaw wrote: “Brilliant performance from all involved to finish the week. (bicep emoji) Great to have my kids there to celebrate the goal with (love heart).”

Forshaw has had his fair share of teammates over a long career and plenty were in the comments to congratulate the former Middlesbrough, Leeds and Norwich man – among them Phillips. The midfielder, who is now at Ipswich Town, wrote: “Love it Ads (heart eyes emoji and love heart)”.

Forshaw spent five years at Elland Road from 2018 to 2023 and while injury issues kept him sidelined for long periods, the midfielder was part of the 2020 Championship title-winning squad that went on to finish ninth in the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa. He was also an experienced head in the difficult campaigns that followed under Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and then Sam Allardyce.

And Phillips was not the only former Leeds player to congratulate Forshaw, with left-back Barry Douglas writing: “Bagsman (laughing emoji and love heart)”. A trio of fellow Merseysiders were also in the comments, with Joe Gelhardt, Sean McGurk and Max Dean spotted.

Celebration controversy

Forshaw garnered a lot of social media attention following his rare goal after appearing to taunt former club Plymouth with his celebration. The Blackburn man ran over towards opposition manager Miron Muslic before raising his arms up right in front of the Pilgrims boss.

But Forshaw quickly cleared up that his family – including young kids who have long been wondering if they’d ever see him score – were sitting above the Plymouth dugout, with the moment shared with them. And Muslic also revealed after full-time he had spoken with the former Leeds man.

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“I have nothing but respect for Forshaw because he explained that behind us was his family, his sons,” Muslic told the Lancashire Telegraph. “I respect that and if I had scored that beautiful goal, I would go to my family celebrating. He is a top professional and there is nothing but respect. He told me this and for me, the story was done in a millisecond. We hugged each other and moved on.”