Nick Tsaroulla has told the full story behind his FA Cup tears.

The Crawley youngster could not hold back the emotions after the win over Leeds.

He was in tears as he spoke to BBC 1 following the 3-0 success.

Tsaroulla scored a brilliant first goal to send Marcelo Bielsa’s side spinning out of the cup.

It was his first senior goal having been let go as a kid by both Tottenham and Brentford B.

But the memories which came flooding back as he beat Kiko Casilla were of ten months when he wondered whether he would ever play again.

Tsaroulla was injured in a car accident which took place as he drove to play his first game a professional for Spurs.

He is now among the talents looking to carve out a career under John Yems’ guidance at Crawley.

It all meant so much to him and his family when his magical moment came before the national audience.

Tsaroulla vividly remembers the crash which changed his life.

He said: “I don’t forget the date - it was July 15, 2017.

“It put me out of action for a year. It was a very difficult time.

“For about ten months we didn’t really know what the problem was.

“Doctors were uncertain I would ever be able to play football again, which was really hard to take.

“It just makes this moment extra special.

“It was taken away from me.

“There were a lot of dark days and, when that ball hit the back of the net, it all just sort of hit me.

“I was given my first-year pro at Spurs and I was actually driving in to play my first game.

“It was a pre-season game and I had the accident and was never able to play for them again.”

Tsaroulla initially looked rebuild his career with Brentford’s B team.

The Bees have set up development squad who, rather than playing only academy teams, take on a range of opposition.

He said: “I had the best year of learning under (coaches) Neil MacFarlane and Sam Saunders last year.

“Playing against completely different opposition – men and boys.

“It was a great learning year for me and I feel like it really gave me a lot of confidence for this year.

“I felt so well prepared from that.

“Obviously I was very fortunate to play for Spurs growing up and having that education there.

“Being a technical player it definitely helped with those skills.

“But last year for me with Brentford was a great learning year.”

Tsaroulla trained for six weeks with Crawley before they handed him a one-year deal.

Yems has had to rebuild his team to a degree and fans following from afar have been finding new favourites Some supporters were able to return briefly.

The hope is something special will be taking shape by the time crowds come back in bigger numbers.

Lockdown rules meant Reds could not go out and celebrate their success.

But there was a silver lining to that for Tsaroulla.

It meant he could spend the rest of a special day with those who had helped him most.

In an interview with the Hawksbee and Jacobs Show on TalkSport, he said: “There were great scenes in the changing room, being able to share it with each other.

“It’s disappointing what has been happening (with lockdown).

“But it was nice for me to be able to come back to my family and share the proud moment with them.

“They were always there supporting me throughout the dark times, and for a while as well, when things weren’t so great for me.”