THE swallow dive is etched in City folklore as much as the goal itself.

David Wetherall launches himself full stretch in front of the Bradford End before disappearing in a pile of claret and amber.

Nineteen years on and the sight of him scoring against Liverpool never grows old.

The choreography needed a bit of work, maybe, but there was no doubting the passion as a season of defying the Premiership nay-sayers climaxed with the most famous of Valley Parade victories.

That win against the odds ensured City stayed up – which is more than could be said for Wetherall’s shorts!

While the cameras zoomed in on his ecstatic reaction, they thankfully spared his blushes over a potentially embarrassing mechanical problem.

“I’m glad the cameraman didn’t quite catch my shorts falling down when I do the slide,” laughed Wetherall, as he recalled the magic moment once more this week.

“Luckily, I’ve got cycling shorts underneath, otherwise when the normal ones slid down it could have been really embarrassing. But the cameraman zooms in close enough so he couldn’t pick it up.

“I was so happy to see the goal go in and just lost it. I knew it gave us a great platform to do what nobody thought that we could.

“It gave everybody that bit of belief – and it was so early in the game when the legs weren’t so tired!”

Wetherall admits he is not one for recalling every game in a career that spanned 17 years, the last nine through some of the toughest times at City. But Sunday, May 14, 2000 will always stick out.

“It was the culmination of a season where nobody gave us a chance.

“We were low spenders on transfers compared to others and had a lot of guys that no one else fancied.

“But through a combination of team spirit, graft and togetherness we managed to eke out enough results to give us a shot at staying up on the last day.

“Then to be playing a team like Liverpool and come out on the right side of the result was pretty amazing.”

Wetherall appreciates the excitement for Liverpool’s return to Valley Parade in aid of Stephen Darby’s motor neurone disease charity.

“I don’t know Stephen personally but he has a fantastic reputation," he said.

“I still keep in touch with everything that happens down at Valley Parade and he was a stalwart under Phil (Parkinson) in a team that did so much for the club.”