Harlequins fire way to Cup final in shoot-out
Harlequins qualified for the final of the Irish Senior Cup when they beat Corinthians of Dublin on Saturday. It was the third consecutive Cup match they won in a penalty shoot-out.
Club president, Pat Dawson, put their achievement into context yesterday - “we’ve had 19 penalties; scored 16, struck the woodwork twice and had one saved.”
Such a high return did not occur by accident - “we practice penalties fairly regularly” said coach Stephen Jackson, “at least once a week.”
The issue of practising penalties was a very live topic during the soccer World Cup last Summer when Ireland were eliminated in a shoot-out by Spain. Ireland failed to score in four penalties out of seven, including one in normal time.
Ireland’s manager Mick McCarthy said they had practiced penalty-taking but he suggested practice was only of limited value because you could not replicate the stress and tension of a match situation.
The two sports are different but the actual process of facing up to a penalty is very similar in hockey and soccer. It is the ultimate test of nerve - a head-to-head contest in a winner take all situation.
McCarthy was right when he pointed to the special strain felt by the penalty-taker in a match but Jackson was unequivocal in his belief in the values of practice.
He said: “Goalkeepers are so competitive that you have to have confidence when you step up to take the stroke if you are to succeed.
“You build confidence by repeatedly doing it in practice. We put the penalty-taker under pressure in training by having players stand close to him and by gently ribbing him verbally as he steps up.”
Harlequins’ satisfaction at winning the shoot-out was tempered by the fact that the winning goal was controversial. Their seventh penalty attempt was saved by the goalkeeper but a goal was awarded when he was deemed to have moved off his goal-line.
Harlequins’ team captain Jason Black said: “The goalkeeper definitely moved but it was a little harsh that a goal was awarded.
“We would have thought it a little fairer had the umpires instead instructed us to take the stroke again.”
Said coach Jackson: “I’m not very good at watching penalty strokes so I didn’t see what happened, but I have heard of a decision like this before.
“The umpires were two extremely competent officials who did a very good job on the day and I suspect the goalkeeper repeated the offence.
“If it was my goalkeeper then I would be very disappointed, of course, but if it was something he had done more than once I would have had to accept it was a correct decision.”
Jackson said that Harlequins’ practice regime had produced “seven or eight players” who are viewed as penalty-takers.
In hockey the shoot-out is contested by five players from each team. If they are level after the mandatory five then the same players engage in a sudden-death contest and they can change the order if they wish.
“We have five players who have regularly taken our penalties over the last three games” said Black, “but the coach lets the decision up to the players and it is all down to who feels good at the time. Some days you are happier in yourself.”
Said Jackson: “We have no pre-planned order as such, the decisions are taken at the time. But if any one of the first five do not feel good then we have six, seven and eight ready to step in. We are always very focused on what needs to be done.”
It is obviously impossible to replicate the actual match situation in training., but too many top stars in all sports put their success down to practice for the obvious conclusion to be ignored.
Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly helps.
