Goalkeeper Watch Week Two – Everybody Loves a 0-0…?

Goalkeepers are a funny bunch – often unnoticed, often underappreciated, and often misunderstood. Goalkeeper Watch shines the spotlight – good, or bad – on the men between the sticks.

In the second edition of Goalkeeper Watch, the EFL and Premier League fixtures between Friday 20th and Monday 23rd November are under the spotlight.

Whilst David Marshall took the trophy for  ‘goalkeeper of the week’ from the recent international fixtures, the award is being split between two Championship stoppers this week.

0-0 draws aren’t usually memorable games from a neutral’s perspective (or for any fan, realistically). However, when three points go amiss, they tend to serve as a form of reward for goalkeepers and defenders – and a clean sheet is never a bad thing.

Whilst there were only four 0-0 draws between Friday and Monday across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, goalkeeping action was aplenty in these games.

Several number ones pulled off crucial saves to save their side a point and a clean sheet over the weekend. Amongst these saves was Marko Marosi’s fantastic stop from Birmingham’s Lukas Jutkiewicz in the ‘St Andrew’s Derby’ game between Coventry and the aforementioned.

Marosi leaped into the top right-hand corner of his goal to claw a powerful header away from goal, arguably saving a point for the Sky Blues.

However, Marosi had little to do and therefore doesn’t qualify for this week’s top shot-stopper trophy. It was another 0-0 draw that caught the eye for goalkeepers around the country; Wycombe Wanderers’ stalemate with Brentford at Adams Park saw Ryan Allsop and David Raya make a plethora of crucial saves to keep each attack at bay.

Respectfully, Ryan Allsop and David Raya probably shouldn’t have been playing in the same division this year.

Raya was rumoured to be attracting interest from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who were on the lookout for a second choice goalkeeper after the departure of Emi Martinez to Aston Villa.

The Spaniard had enjoyed a stellar season under the coaching of Inaki Cana, who had departed Brentford to join up with Arsenal just before Christmas and had missed out on a place in the Premier League with Brentford’s defeat to Fulham in the Play-Off Final.

Allsop, meanwhile, was promoted with Wycombe via the controversial Points Per Game statistical model – the Chairboys were 8th in the table when the 2019/20 League One season was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Previously of Bournemouth, amongst others, Allsop had only 12 Championship appearances under his belt before Wycombe were promoted.

Regardless, Allsop caught the eye in the 0-0 draw with Brentford alongside Raya. The pair seemed to be trying to outplay each other with the saves that they were making, all of which were impressive in their own right.

Raya’s first significant contribution saw him react well to palm away a cross-turned-shot from far out on the right-wing.

His footwork was crucial in getting to the cross/shot, constantly adjusting and readjusting to give himself the best chances of reaching the ball.

Perhaps an overlooked detail is that of the hand that Raya used to claw the cross away. Had he used his left, not his right, he may have run the risk of trying to tip the ball over the bar and accidentally palming it into his own goal.

Allsop levelled with Raya soon after, tipping a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box onto the post.

The photo below shows Allsop’s set position as the ball is struck. He’s not in a solid set position, nor as low as you’d ideally like to be set for a shot from that range.

His momentum from travelling across the goal is taking him slightly to the left, and due to this, he does well to get into a good position by quickly switching his weight onto his right foot. A strong right hand then tips the ball onto the post.

You may be surprised at just how many goalkeepers would watch a shot of that nature nestle into the bottom corner. Allsop was also most likely unsighted given the runs into the box that were being made, therefore making his reaction save all the more impressive.

Allsop looked assured in the Wycombe goal for the rest of the afternoon, and given the home side’s dominance, the save above proved crucial come the final whistle. Had Wycombe scored, would Allsop’s save had been just as important as the matchwinner?

David Raya made two more crucial stops – one from Adebayo Akinfenwa and one from Daryl Horgan, which kept the scoreline goalless.

His excellent movement in the goal allowed him the time to react to Akinfenwa’s mid-height volley from just inside the box.

Similarly, his solid set position and excellent reach helped him tip Daryl Horgan’s effort around the post, towards the end of the game.

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