Man, I don't think I did Poor Bastard Of The Moment posts in at least two years, and now I've done two in a week. I don't think I've ever done those blog posts so frequently ever.
In the second time in as many Saturdays, a goalkeeper muffed a save in a very important game. Last week it was Boston University men's ice hockey goalie Matt O'Connor dropping a clearing lob through his legs and into the net that led to a tie in the Frozen Four final, a game won by Providence. This week, just now in fact, it is Reading FC Keeper Adam Federici doing just about the same thing.
The competition is the FA Cup semifinals, the March Madness-style British soccer competition that throws teams from all levels, from the Premier League all the way down to amateur clubs (I think I just read that there are over 750 teams that play), into a bracket. You play one game against an opponent blindly drawn. Win and advance. No team from the top-flight has won the cup (at least not in the past two centuries), but I have been told that more people should be more interested in the FA Cup than the English Premier League powerhouse matchup between Chelsea and Manchester United (won by Chelsea 1-0), probably because of a mix of tradition and the David-slaying-Goliath aspect of the tournament.
Reading is a second-flight team. They were playing Arsenal, which, if you don't know, is currently second in the EPL. And they scored first in today's semifinal. Yet Reading was able to tie in the second half to send it to Extra Time. Unfortunately for Reading, Federici allowed Alexis Sanchez's try on goal to nutmeg him (special record-keeping note: This is the first time in Wailing And Failing history that I am embedding a Vine; ooh, I can't wait!):
And Federici's howler is worse than O'Connor's. At least O'Connor only coughed up a tie; the Terriers still had a chance to win after that. Even though it's soccer and it's not sudden death, well, it's soccer; Federici allowed what stood as the game-winning goal, allowing Arsenal to advance and defend their FA Cup win from last year. And Reading's dream of being FA Cup champs went through their Goalie's legs.
Poor bastard.
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