Conor Haughey's phone was unreachable for hours. Messages from friends and family in Belfast poured in so fast after the 19-year-old scored the decisive penalty that sent Fleetwood Town past Premier League champions Arsenal in the Carabao Cup last-16 — that his handset simply could not keep up.

"My phone wouldn't work for two to three hours after the game because there were so many messages, just notifications after notifications," Haughey told BBC Sport NI.

The League Two side knocked out Arsenal 5-3 on penalties following a goalless draw at Highbury Stadium, with Haughey's emphatic fifth kick — driven into the top corner — triggering a mass pitch invasion. Fleetwood sit 84 places below Arsenal in the English football pyramid, making it one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history.

A moment he described as surreal

Haughey, a centre-back who only joined Fleetwood in the summer of 2023 after starting out at Glentoran — where he became the club's youngest-ever player at 15 — admitted the enormity of the occasion has not fully registered.

"It's been like a dream. I woke up this morning and was like 'this actually is real'. It's unbelievable and a surreal moment," he said.

His post-match interview also went viral, with an unfiltered burst of emotion from the Northern Ireland Under-21 international capturing the mood perfectly. Haughey was unapologetic: "There was too many emotions going on, it was just wild. I'm from the New Lodge, I've been brought up like that and it just came out."

Volunteer taker seals the win

Haughey had volunteered to take the fifth penalty after Viktor Gyokeres cancelled out Aaron Loupalo-Bi's opener during normal time. When Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved a tame effort from Bruno Guimaraes, Haughey stepped up knowing the tie was in his hands.

"We had the first four [takers] and they [the coaches] were like 'anyone else?' and I said 'yeah'," he recalled. "I trust myself to hit one and luckily I went fifth. Lynchy took all the pressure off me with the save."

He had already decided exactly where he was placing the ball. "I put the ball down, knew where I was going and stuck it there and ran over to all my mates in the corner and went mad. They were the first people on the pitch."

Playing Fifa the morning after

Less than 24 hours on from the biggest night of his career, Haughey was at home playing video games — with some of Arsenal's stars in his Fifa squad. "I'm sitting as if nothing has happened, as if it's a normal rest day," he said. "It's not really hit me yet."

Northern Ireland senior manager Michael O'Neill was in the stands to watch the game, with promising forward Ceadach O'Neill — Haughey's former JD Academy room-mate — marking his first Arsenal start with an assist on the other side.

Fleetwood now await their quarter-final opponents following Chelsea's fixture against Liverpool. Haughey had no hesitation when asked who he wanted next at Highbury Stadium: "Man City. Simple as that."