Five sleepy keepers like Orjan Nyland who were embarrassed by sneaky strikers…

Ian Watson

Orjan Nyland on Saturday became the latest goalkeeper to pay for failing to check his shoulder. At least he wasn’t Crosby-ed, and nor was it his debut, like poor Andreas Linde…

 

Reading’s Championship season finished in suitably-farcical fashion, with keeper Nyland gifting Luton a goal to help the Hatters secure a Champions play-offs place.

After making a brave save at the feet of Harry Cornick, Nyland forgot the Luton midfielder was behind him and dropped the ball to dribble and drive just before half-time.

Cornick cleverly made sure to stay in Nyland’s blind spot before sneaking up to steal the ball and roll it into an empty net.

The Norwegian also made a fantastic save early in the second half, but no-one will remember that while he’s featuring in blooper compilations a long time after he’s hung up his gloves.

Nyland is hardly the first goalkeeper to require wing mirrors…

 

1) Andy Dibble 
The commentator suggested that Nyland had been Gary Crosby-ed, which is wholly inaccurate. Crosby pulled Dibble’s pants down in an entirely different, more embarrassing way…

Like Nyland, perhaps Dibble momentarily switched off while allowing himself a moment after a fine piece of goalkeeping to collect an awkward Garry Parker cross. As soon as the City stopper relaxed to hold the ball away from his body, Crosby, quick as a flash, pounced to nod it out of his right Sondico and tap into the gaping goal.

Dibble couldn’t believe it, nor could his manager Howard Kendall. George Courtney felt it should have been disallowed ‘in the spirit of the game’; Gary Lineker sat on the fence; but Greavsie had rather less sympathy…

 

2) Rob Green
If we must make a Forest connection, a more accurate description would be that Nyland was David Johnson-ed.

Which was the fate that befell ex-England keeper Green when Norwich fell behind to the Tricky Trees at the start of the 2003/04 season…

 

3) Shay Given
Johnson presumably took inspiration from Dion Dublin, who picked Given’s pocket at Highfield Road in 1997.

Given, like Dibble, did exceptionally well to gather the world’s highest cross which Gary McAllister intended for Dublin. The Coventry striker’s momentum carried him to the cinder track, from where he sneaked up on the Newcastle keeper, who was too stunned to react when Dublin stole in to score a fourth-minute opener in a 2-2 draw.

Given’s excuse, of a sort: the six-second rule had come into force that season: “So you had to kick it out or throw it down. The refs were really on it too. I looked up, there was nothing on, and I just just threw it down but didn’t look behind me.”

 

4) Andreas Linde
This was the poor lad’s league debut, FFS…

Linde, then 21, was making his first start for Molde and it was going rather swimmingly. They led 2-1 against Odd with 18 minutes to go. Linde made a good block to deny Jone Samuelsen and wandered to the edge of his box. Apparently unaware of Samuelsen’s presence, despite being close enough to smell him, Linde dropped the ball and was subsequently robbed of it. The keeper, though, wasn’t having it and stopped Samuelsen by wrestling him to the ground.

Linde was sent-off and Odd scored the penalty to earn a 2-2 draw.

 

5) Scott Fox
Ross County keeper Fox basked in his moment for far, far too long after sending Alfredo Morelos for a hot dog during Rangers’ visit in 2017…

Upon receiving a shonky back-pass, Fox left Morelos on his arse by cutting back inside off his left foot. All he had to do was launch the ball downfield in a timely fashion but no, assuming Morelos had been dealt with, Fox dallied and allowed the Rangers striker a second chance to close him down. Morelos took his revenge, leaving Fox in a heap while he grabbed one half of a brace in a 3-1 win for the Gers.

 

F365 Features Orjan Nyland