Dunfermline stopper Lee Ashcroft has been compared to the ‘mythical’ Zinedine Zidane in football-crazy South America after scoring with a sensational volley at the weekend.

The central defender stunned East End Park with the spectacular 20-yard equaliser in the second half of the Pars’ dramatic 3-2 victory over Ayr United.

It was a key moment for Ashcroft, who had earlier scored an own goal, and for the Fifers as they registered their first home league victory in seven months.

And it has even grabbed the attention of sports fans thousands of miles away after being likened to Zidane’s iconic strike for Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden.

ESPN in Argentina posted video footage of Ashcroft’s eye-catching goal, saying ‘to many, it reminded people’ of Zidane’s volley, which has since been ranked as one of the greatest goals scored in the competition.

The broadcaster’s message read: “A great goal to Zidane! Lee Ashcroft, of Dunfermline, scored a volley in Scotland just like Zizou [Zidane] did in the 2002 Champions League final, in the same country…”

Ashcroft has admitted he is unlikely to better Saturday’s incredible strike.

The 26-year-old told ParsTV: “To be fair, I do it in training all the time but I’ve never done it in a game! No, I’m kidding on!

“It was just one of those ones where the ball came out and I just tried to get my foot over and it just flew in.

“I’ve not scored many better than that and I’ll probably never score a goal as good as that again.

“If I score any more like that I’ll be absolutely delighted.

“Usually, I’m just a tap-in or a header, so I’m absolutely buzzing to get it and it made it even better that we got the win as well.”