SENTINELCELTS

I’ve become increasingly aware that when you reach a certain level the game is decided on it’s big moments, specifically which team takes advantage of them.
 
It’s the managers job to find a playing system that will create those big moments, but once they cross that white line it’s up to the players to take full advantage of them, there’s only so much anyone else can do.
 
Our Champions League campaign was very exciting, but at the end of the day others took better advantage of their big moments created,,for instance in September the Bhoys had 6 shots on target away to Shaktar and scored one whilst they had two shots and also scored one goal. We had those big moments to win the game and failed to take advantage.
 
The World Cup has been all about those big moments. Taking that chance, for at the top level chances are rare. And perhaps more importantly, goals change games.
 
Last night watching the semi final I witnessed the Croatian goalkeeper have a brain fart and thought to myself ‘you’ve failed in your BIG moment son’.
Come off your line sure, narrow that angle, but charge the attacker ala Shumaker?
Nope.
I doubt he would make the same choice for a run of the mill league fixture, the big occasion got to him.
 
The penalty itself falls to Messi who has been going through real big moments for almost twenty years now.
Surprise surprise his nerves don’t go, he steps up and delivers.
 
Obviously not every big moment will go your way, the keeper can always have a great night. Only a perfect team would take every chance, and that won’t happen as man is fallible.
 
But it stands to reason the more big moments you experience as a team or a player, the more used to them you become.
Harry Kane failed his big test but ask yourself how many times has he been under real real big pressure to deliver on that single occasion as everything rests upon it! Few, if any.
 
Tam Rogic and Naka were men for the big occasion but Henrik was the ultimate. Even still, he missed a few pens, proof it’s not always going to go your way, but missing simply made him more determined and angry at himself, which almost always resulted in a goal or two.
They aren’t always going to go your way.
 
For the second goal JJ missed his clearance attempt leaving Sosa as the last line of defence with a ball bearing attacker bearing down on him.
He sclaffs it into the attacker leaving him with a favourable bounce and only the keeper to beat from a close angle. Easy peasy.
With his team a goal down and as the last line of defense, Sosa should have stood tall and pulled a Gandalf, ie You Shall Not Pass. Head the ball, chest the ball, do anything but a useless swing of the foot! Bobo Balde would have taken everything in the vicinity out, that’s what was needed.
Nope, Sosa failed his big moment.
 
Then Messi creates his own big moment for number three, and a thing of beauty it was. I truly look forward to the final knowing he will give his everything to lift that cup, and watching that should be great fun. En route to lifting their last World Cup another left footed wizard created many big moments, I’m starting to see similarities here.
 
So while one won’t take advantage of every big moment, the team or teams that take advantage of most of them will do very well at the top table, which is where we find ourselves these days. European wise we sometimes turn those big moments into goals, the next step is becoming a team that usually creates goals out of big moments.
2 chances 1 goal ala Shaktar.
7 chances 3 goals ala Argentina.
 
We all want the next level, converting our chances will take us there.
Being ready for ‘the big moments’.
Over to you Ange and Harry.

By Mahe
sentinelcelts@gmail.com