Garth Crooks waxes lyrical about ‘enormous’ Jordan Pickford penalty save v Leicester City
Garth Crooks believes Jordan Pickford’s penalty save against Leicester City could have “enormous consequences” for Everton and their fight against relegation this season.
The Toffees shot-stopper was on hand to deny fellow England teammate James Maddison from the penalty spot in the 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium, dummying to dive before standing his ground and making the stop.
And Crooks, writing in his column for BBC Sport, hailed the “brave decision” of Pickford and his meticulous preparation for such an eventuality, naming him in his Premier League team of the week.
“It’s very rare I select a goalkeeper in my team who concedes two goals in one game,” he wrote. “It is even more unusual when the goalkeeper should have saved Leicester City’s first goal scored by Caglar Soyuncu.
“However, Jordan Pickford’s penalty save may have enormous consequences in Everton’s fight for survival.
“Had Leicester gone 3-1 up it would almost certainly have put the game beyond Everton, but Pickford outsmarted his England team-mate James Maddison by standing and refusing to dive to his left or right.
“It was a brave decision but one that was made after he had studied Maddison’s penalty routines and noticed that the majority of his spot-kicks went straight down the middle.
“Everton have four games left to play and they must pick up a minimum of seven points to stand any chance of survival, and their run-in is horrendous.”
Magic moment.
Sean Dyche is going to have to rely on moments of magic from his Everton side if they are going to escape the clutches of relegation this season, and this was certainly one from Pickford.
In a relegation six-pointer such as Monday night’s clash, falling 3-1 down at half-time could well have been terminal not just to getting a result but also to the club’s chances of survival.
If the Foxes had claimed all three points, it would have left Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United as the favourites to go down this season, with one win enough to help leapfrog up above the rest.
However, Pickford was there to deny Maddison with a gutsy stop, and hopefully, the England number one can pull further displays of this nature out of the bag.
The 29-year-old was quite simply superb as Everton beat the drop last season, and it looks like he is rising to the occasion once more.