OPINION
It’s a fickle life being a goalkeeper. Whereas those in front of you can get away with countless mishaps during a match and come out the other side relatively unscathed, one mistake from a stopper is enough to cost his side three vital points.
It’s also scarily easy to undo years of working towards a solid reputation with a couple of less than convincing performances.
Ask Martin Dubravka. The Slovakian keeper has arguably been Newcastle United’s player of the year this season, pulling off countless vital stops that have kept the Magpies in matches and even earning them crucial points that could be difference between survival and relegation.
Over the past week and a half, however, he has hardly covered himself in glory.
Last Saturday at Wembley he let Son Heung-min’s late drive pass straight through him, and on Monday night against Wolves he looked weak as he was out jumped for Willy Boly’s 95th minute equaliser.
That’s three points that the Toon Army have now dropped in just over a week because of their stopper now, and if he’s not careful, he will gain a reputation as a calamity-prone keeper.
So much of goalkeeping is mental, and it takes a special kind of mindset to be able to shoulder that level of responsibility knowing full well how high the stakes are.
By making two costly errors in two matches, the worry will be that Dubravka’s mental strength has waned a little, and that could be very costly going forward.
The best thing he can do now is relax, enjoy his side’s warm weather training, and remind himself of just who good he is.
