The recent Angus derby couldn't have gone much worse for Montrose goalkeeper Lucas Birnstingl. In what would be a 5-1 loss for Montrose, Arbroath keeper David Crawford even scored the first goal of his career against Birnstingl with a long free kick that took a high bounce and rolled over the Canadian's fingertips to dribble in. On top of that, Birnstingl was sent off in the 82nd minute for a bad challenge that forced Montrose to put a striker in goal since they had already used all three substitutes.

The only thing that could have made it worse for Birnstingl would've been getting struck by lightning as he walked off. But he might have welcomed that after what he had just experienced.

Though everyone has bad days and Crawford's goal probably shouldn't have even counted since the ball was still rolling when he kicked it, Birnstingl took it all especially hard and went with the extreme measure of immediately fleeing the country.

From the Daily Record:

In his shame, Birnstingl packed his bags and got the first flight back home to Canada. Despite having since apologised to manager George Shields and offering to return to Links Park, Montrose have cancelled his registration.

“Lucas also has been suffering from home sickness and that was a major factor in his decision to simply go home,” Shields told the local Courier newspaper. “He has apologised for his actions and offered to come back. However, we do not feel that is a decision he should take just now.”

The 24-year-old Birnstingl has bounced around Scottish lower division clubs since moving there in 2009 for a trial with Kilmarnock. Whether he returns to Scotland or remains in Canada, hopefully he can find peace in his future endeavors and satisfaction.

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Brooks Peck is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter! Follow @BrooksDT