Recipe for a successful Penalty Kick (Part 2)
Higher V’s
This is the area of the goal that no goal keeper can unfailingly attend to when trying to defend a penalty kick. This is basically the upper corners of the goal that one cannot reach in a split second.
The ball shot at the lower corners of the goal are easier to stop as the goalie can always just jump horizontally. But the fact remains that goalies cannot instantly reach the top corners of the goal while standing in the exact middle of the goal, as goal keepers have to do when standing to defend a penalty kick. The goalie would have to be a minimum of eight-feet in height to make that reach possible.
In summary, if any player can manage to control the ball near a height of eight meters, and keep it to any corner, or even the middle, then that is a sure recipe for a definite goal.
Right, up, down, left
There is also one more thing that players can do to find the back of the net, which at the same time is not that risky.
A ball travelling on the ground is harder to stop than a ball that is travelling one foot or higher in the air. The basic and very obvious reason for this is that when the goal keeper dives to block the ball he is half way through the air and tends to stop the ball with his body and his hands outstretched.
But by kicking the ball along the ground, even if the goalie estimates the right direction and does everything that he possibly can, it will be travel into the goal.
So keeping the ball travelling on the ground substantially increases the chances for scoring a goal.
Going from having two halves to having thirds
A football match is played in two halves, but when further analysis was done about the game then that divides it into thirds. One is the defensive third, then there is a middle third and then comes the attacking third.
Basic tactics for penalties come from binary decisions, which basically means that when shooting a ball and taking a penalty everything comes down to shooting the ball in probability to where the goal keeper will not go. Also, players don’t just shoot the ball towards the middle enough when they ought to do that more often as goal keepers rarely expect that.
When a goal keeper decides to dive towards the right or the left, this decision is completely dependent on mathematical options.
As with the last Manchester United match, the goalie always dove towards a side. This is because goal keepers are habituated to choosing a side and diving towards the ball when it is struck.
What you will notice about penalties is that with local teams and small clubs the keepers never tend to dive as soon as the ball is shot. They wait for the ball to be shot, and then move towards it.
But in higher league matches you will mostly see goalies diving to a side as soon as the ball is hit. As with skilled players, they are expected to choose a certain corner and go for it so the goal keepers have the habit of jumping as soon as the ball is shot.
So what is arguably the most ideal technique to score a penalty?
The best way would be to place the ball on the ground then, look towards the referee till the time that he blows the whistle to signal the go ahead. Turn around and walk a minimum of eight steps away from the ball.
Then instantly turn around and take a good long run up. Combine the top boot and the instep and hit the ball as hard as you can into the high far corners of the goal post while trying to curl the ball inside the goal.
The probability of successfully netting the ball is totally upon the shooter, and the approach taken by the player. It is still a bit of a mystery why such talented players take such bad penalty kicks and more than that why their managers let them.
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