Jonathan Gjoshe was headed for his home in London, looking forward to spending a weekend with his friends and family after a disappointing night playing for ninth-tier side Bottesford Town.
The date was Saturday, November 1, when the now 23-year-old was sitting on a train bound for the capital from Doncaster, having featured at full-back in Bottesford’s 2-1 home defeat to Handsworth.
The youngster was ready to put what had been a frustrating night behind him. But as the train entered Cambridgeshire, with roughly one hour left of the journey, Gjoshe’s career and life changed forever.
Gjoshe, who was on loan at Bottesford from National League side Scunthorpe United at the time, was one of 11 people injured during a horrific knife attack after the train had left Peterborough station.
The footballer was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in the shoulder, and has been rehabilitating from the incident during the six months that have passed since.
After keeping his head down during his recovery, Gjoshe has decided to speak out on the terrifying assault that led to him having an operation on his upper arm, with his bicep having been slashed.
Former Scunthorpe United footballer Jonathan Gjoshe has spoken out six months after being stabbed during horrifying train attack
The 23-year-old defender has now spoken out about the whole ordeal for the very first time
‘I remember jumping over the table, jumping over the chairs. I was just running down the corridor, telling people, “there’s a guy with a knife, run, I’ve been stabbed, run, run, run”.
‘I was screaming. I think I was the first person that got stabbed. I felt the pain. But adrenaline kicked in.
‘That split second, me jumping over the table, saved me. All I thought about was just running for my life, getting off that train. As I got down to the first or second carriage, I pulled the alarm, and was just drenched with blood.
‘I was thinking I wasn’t going to see my family again, if I died, and that was the main worry for me’, he says. ‘Normally I would drive back down to London. That was the first time I got on a train to go back. What’s the chance of that happening? It’s crazy.’
The train eventually made an emergency stop at Huntingdon, where Gjoshe was able to seek the help he needed from paramedics.
In the months since the traumatising events on that train, Gjoshe has been hard at work to make sure he gets back on the football pitch, keen to prove he has what it takes to continue playing at National League level.
The defender had only joined Scunthorpe two months before the attack, having impressed during pre-season. He only had one season to show his worth, having signed on non-contract terms.
Unfortunately, after missing the majority of the campaign due to the injuries he sustained from the stabbing, the Iron announced that he will be leaving the club after not being offered a new deal.
Gjoshe has now left Scunthorpe United after not being given a contract following one season
While ‘disappointed’ that he is being let go, Gjoshe is thankful for the support he has received from the club and its supporters.
‘The Scunthorpe fans started a ‘GoFund Me’, [raising £4,500],’ he told BBC Sport. ‘It helped me a lot. The support they showed for me, the club as well, it meant a lot,’ he says.
‘Obviously [with] everything I’ve been through, I missed half a season… I didn’t get that chance that I wanted’, he says. ‘I was hoping they’d give me another year to prove that. But unfortunately, I didn’t get that. It’s quite disappointing.’
Anthony Williams, 32, of Peterborough, has since been charged with a total of 13 counts of attempted murder after using a kitchen knife on the LNER train back in November.
The date set for his trial is October 26.
