Iceman10
Established Member
I did consider the criticism of Leno after the match a bit harsh. Looking at a replay, would say his dive to stop a curler from Son about ten minutes after Sp**s opener saved an almost certain goal. For the Sp**s opener itself, the shot itself was weak, but was far enough away from Leno's body to make it really difficult to hold the ball, imo. From there, I get what some are saying about his inability to get back up, and that could be fair.
Another observation, looking at a replay of the match, and with players losing their footing during the first 15 minutes, I don't know, could be way off with this, but I would suggest the pitch had been over-watered prior to kick-off, and perhaps that slightly contributed to Leno not able to get a grip on the surface to get back up quick enough? Could be a lame excuse. Regardless, I do rate Leno, and I consider the criticism of him being "average", etc. based on this one goal conceded in isolation to be a bit unfair on him.
Another observation, looking at a replay of the match, and with players losing their footing during the first 15 minutes, I don't know, could be way off with this, but I would suggest the pitch had been over-watered prior to kick-off, and perhaps that slightly contributed to Leno not able to get a grip on the surface to get back up quick enough? Could be a lame excuse. Regardless, I do rate Leno, and I consider the criticism of him being "average", etc. based on this one goal conceded in isolation to be a bit unfair on him.
