Two of the English Premier Leagues' best goalkeepers started off the season on a very sour note, as both keepers made huge blunders that resulted in goals for the opposing teams. Tim Howard somehow let the ball slip out of his hands as he came out to win the ball and Pepe Reina herded the ball into his own goal in the dying minutes of the game after the ball came off the post.
Howard's Mistake
You'd have to say Reina's mistake takes the cake though, don't know how he managed to score in his own goal. I think he at first thought about just punching or pushing the ball out of play but bobbled it into his own net instead. The life of the keeper is never an easy one. They’re easy the hero or the goat. One minute that make an amazing save, the next instance the ball easily bounces into the net. But this mistake might go down as the worst of the season and it’s only the first game.
For Reina, who didn't play in the World Cup in South Africa for Spain, he might just be a bit rusty. Iker Casillas is just too strong a keeper and Reina acts instead as the team cheerleader. Actually an important role, someone has to keeper team spirits high when things aren’t going well. And he may have just partied too much during the off-season. It seemed like everywhere you looked his was singing, drinking and emceeing some kind of post World Cup event.
What's worse though about Reina's mistake is it was against Arsenal, and Liverpool were up a man most of the game. They were on the verge of stealing three points from a hated rival. The loss has too hurt all that much more.
Reina's Mistake
For Howard though, he had a fantastic World Cup for the United States, and his error is therefore that much stranger. However, at times, Howard’s eagerness and energy sometimes get the better of him, and he might have lost focus for a moment after he won the ball.
In the end though, I don’t think either keeper will let these disastrous mistakes hold them back the rest of the season. It might turn out to be a stern warning and make them sharper as the season goes on.
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