Getting your head wrapped and coming back into the game is always pretty bad ass
While watching games this past weekend I saw a pair of plays that were downright frustrating in their laziness. One of them resulted in a goal, the other did not. In both cases though players stopped playing because of a foul and partially assumed that play would be stopped.
The first instance was in the Seattle Sounders v. Houston Dynamo MLS playoff match. While there are other issues I could get into with this play, namely the fact that the ref blew the whistle while the ball was in the air, or the fact that he didn’t play advantage, I’ll let those rest for some other time. On the play (seen here) Houston’s keeper Pat Onstad just sort of stopped and let Nate Jaqua roll the ball right into his goal. Personally I didn’t hear the whistle over the crowd noise while I was watching it and thought it might stand. The ref could have claimed he hadn’t blown it and it would have probably given Seattle the 1-0 win, changing the entire dynamic of the second leg.
The second play did result in a goal, but it was inconsequential to the final match score. It occurred when Arsenal scored their third goal of the match (seen here) against Spurs. The goal was probably the result of some sloppy play from Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes and defender Ledley King. However some of the problems related to the play could easily be because of the fact that everyone stopped because they assumed a foul would be called and the ref wouldn’t play advantage.
Both of these plays represent one of the few things that are absolutely frustrating about this sport. Players love to just stop and assume that the play is going to stop for a free kick. This is almost as bad as stopping and raising your hand to try and get an offsides call. Why is it so hard for players to just continue play on for another 10 seconds just to make sure there is NO chance at there being a goal ruled?
If the play in Seattle had been called a goal the entire second leg would be dramatically different than it will be now. Seattle could have played defense all day and made sure nothing came past them while putting all the pressure on Houston. This would have been a result of a lazy keeper who decided to stop and not play on for 20 more seconds.
As a pro athlete one would expect you to play out every play to the end, but it seems in soccer there are times where players would much rather just stop and try to get a free kick or force something else rather than try to continue playing. While this certainly isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, plays like these are some of the reasons that the sport’s detractors, Especially in the States, always like to point out when trying to bash the sport. While this isn’t easily stoppable-I can’t just call Pat Onstad and tell him to try harder-it is something that players need to realize, especially in this country. Everything negative they do is looked at badly while everything good they do is usually overlooked. We’ve got a long way to go till soccer is huge in this country, but until then I hope our players start playing with a little more effort.
That Arsenal one was hysterical. Even Sagna stops when he hears the flag rip, then he takes a moment, realizes there was no whistle (or sees the ref giving the clear “advantage” arm wave), and crosses it anyways.