Aston Villa News 24/7One of the worst things any player can do when tasked with taking a penalty is to try something clever and fail spectacularly. Brilliant when it comes off, infuriating for the fans and embarrassing for the player when it doesn’t.
With the pressure on the pitch, even taking a text book penalty isn’t as easy as it looks, but here, working with Adidas, Ashley Young shows us how easy it can be on the training pitch.
I don’t think he’ll be trying any of those tricks when it comes to the next one (although I’d love to see him try the third one!), but he has said he won’t automatically hand penalty duties over to Darren Bent:
I am a strong character. I won’t dwell on the penalty miss. I have scored penalties and I have missed some too – and I have always bounced back from them. I won’t let it get me down and it won’t stop me taking another. I definitely will take another.
I am sure Benty will have his say on the next one. We will have to wait and see. Let’s see how kind I’m feeling when the next one comes along. I’ll see if I let him take it or not.
And on the missed penalty:
People may talk about the delay before I took it or their goalkeeper encouraging me to hit it to his right but I wasn’t even aware he was doing that. I was totally focused on the penalty.
The last few I have taken I haven’t even looked at the goalkeeper before hitting it. It’s been head-down.
With this one, I stepped up and just hit it the way that I have done with the others I have scored previously.
My bet, since I don’t think Ash is someone who admits defeat easily, is that he will step up with a point to prove when the next penalty comes along. I’d put money on him scoring it too. I wonder wonder the odds would be.
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10 Comments to “Video: The penalty technique Ashley Young could have used at Bolton”
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Shame he struggles doing it in a proper match. Never felt as confident as when Barry used to step up for a spot kick. The 3-3 penalty at Stamford Bridge took some bottle!
I think Young was definitely psyched out by Jaskalainen.
I don’t think he’s a bad penalty-taker, but it does quite annoy me that others rarely get a look in at set pieces.
If he tried any of those techniques and failed to score in a game, I’d have the right hump.
Reminds me of Yorke’s cheeky pen all those years ago, but he was a player on fire.
I’m not sure whether it’s something to do with the psyche of a forward/striker, but in a one to one with the goalkeeper, with all eyes on them they tend to try to over think the shot.
I seem to recall Dwight York chipping a keeper, had it not gone in he would have looked a right plank. I am very much old school with regard to penalties, just mash it!
Thinking doesn’t even come close to what to do, hit it hard and in the right direction. Don’t try anything flash, in the words of Peter Kaye, “ave it!”.
Like it RSam and totally agree
watched villarreal x sporting gijon earlier. sporting were down to 9 men and trailing 1-0 when they won an injury time penalty. castro casually chipped it right down the middle.
cojones.
i’m with sam tho, i’d have kicked the skin off it!
as long as you get it on target its all anyone can ask for…
i’m with sam as well i’d have taken such a long run up to make the keeper think twice then leather it so hard it hurts him if he gets near it.
on the other hand, that was the carew technique and we’re still waiting for his effort at st james’ to return to earth orbit!
lol…
still it’s never failed me!
To be fair to Ash, I bet he hates taking them. Ttrouble with pens is: you can’t rely on anyone giving you a shove or kick as you’re running up. It rather limits his options.
Oh by the way, I am very very very bored. Any chance of some footy? We putting a full team out this weekend or is anyone still tired?
if dunne gets sacked is it bring your own boots day on Saturday?