Do you still remember the time when you and your group of friends tried to play an 11-a-side game, or a normal street soccer game, and it’s hard to find someone who wanted to “volunteer” as goalkeeper?
Very often, it would be either the most unfit player of the lot, or the player who was very tired who would ‘unfortunately’ end up as the man between the sticks? Now, does this seem déjà vu or what?
Well, the point I am trying to make is that not many people will want to become a goalkeeper because it is not an easy position to play. ItÂ’s quite unglamorous too.
Besides being an almost thank-less job, youÂ’re expected to dive at peopleÂ’s feet when studs are flying in. YouÂ’re expected to catch a ball perfectly even though itÂ’s slippery due to the rain. YouÂ’re expected to maintain full concentration even though youÂ’re idling most of the time.
Worst of all, youÂ’re expected to play the perfect game because you can pull off many acrobatic saves, yet, at the same time, one simple mistake can considerably lower your performance rating in the match.
ThatÂ’s how if feels being a goalkeeper.
National custodian Lionel Lewis needs your cheers, not unnecessary, unconstructive criticism.National team coach Radojko Avramovic will have no problems identifying with Lionel Lewis’ anguish after he let in two “soft” goals against Malaysia over the two legs in the Asean Football Championship tournament semi-finals.
Avramovic, after all, was a former Notts County goalkeeper.
In the first leg, a speculative cross by Muhammad Hardi Jaafar somehow sailed over the strapping figure of Lewis into goal.
In the return leg at the National Stadium, Eddy HelmiÂ’s 57th minute effort managed to bounce off Lewis and the ball trickled its way past the goal line.
The Singaporean fans were shocked when Malaysia took the lead at the National Stadium. How could the normally unflappable and reliable Lewis let in a soft goal?
An acid test of character for anyone would be the personÂ’s ability to bounce back from any setback. Thankfully for the Singaporean fans, this was one test which Lewis wasnÂ’t about to fail.
Mohd KhyrilÂ’s poor spot-kick may be deemed by many to be a save-able effort but it still needed LewisÂ’ timely intervention to prevent the ball from going in.
Still, such is the goalkeeperÂ’s life that many spectators in the stadium expected Lewis to make such a penalty save easily.
Let me put things in perspective. To do it in front of 55,000 people, after conceding a soft goal in normal regulation time, and having the patience to dive the correct way – that definitely takes a bit of doing.
HereÂ’s a word of advice for all those LewisÂ’ detractors - letÂ’s cut the guy some slack and give him our 100% support as he faces Thailand in the finals. He, along with the rest of his team mates, needs our vocal support this Wednesday.
I have no qualms setting high expectations for our national players but they are humans after all and as the cliché goes, humans do make mistakes.
Especially goalkeepers.
