Bolton 1 – 3 Sunderland on 7th May 2011 saw an incident which required further clarification.
Leading Bolton 2-1 at the Reebok Stadium, Sunderland were in prime position to win their first game in a long time. Ages. Bolton pressing for an equaliser allowed Sunderland to counter-attack and get the decisive 4th goal. The ball played through wide left for everyone’s favourite Ghanaian Sulley Muntari whose cross-come-shot-come-shank was diverted in to his own net, by once-capped lummox Zat Knight.
Was Muntari’s effort going on goal thus invoking The Dubious Goals Committee’s Rule 3.2? Does Steve Bruce have Zat Knight to thank for the ‘luck’ he’s been after for so long? Is anyone else wondering why Steve Bruce doesn’t make a big deal about his role in Home Alone 2?
We are more than happy to oblige. Remember, the Committee’s decision is final…
Matt Tickner
Why do defenders do it? It was the same with Lars Jacobsen a couple of weeks ago, defenders are just incapable of kicking a ball perpendicularly. I don’t know why this is. Maybe it’s because they don’t have the brain power (Nedum Onouha and Clarke Carlisle aside) to work out that, should we apply the basic rule of a right-angled triangle, the ball carrying speed is the hypotenuse, the player is axis x and where they need to kick it, is the y axis. It’s basic math. Simple. Zat Knight has never really struck me as an intelligent sort and I think this is largely due to his height. Other reasons include: a. His name is Zat, b. His arrest by armed police officers and c. His constantly alarmed expressions. I genuinely believe he could have cleared Muntari’s effort were he not so rangy and awkward. So I’m sorry Zat, it’s a D- for you.
Verdict: Zat Knight own goal
Jimmy Daniel
Seeing as this is a flip/reverse copy of the Zabaleta/Jacobsen goal we looked at last week,there is only one outcome for me…. This goes down as an own goal to Zat knight… the ball might have hit the post, or even gone wide without the intervention from the defender… plus Muntari has quite a punchable face so I am more than happy to not allow him the credit for this goal.
Verdict: Zat Knight own goal
Matt McMahon
This is a classic one we deal with many times a season. In accordance with Rule 3.2 it seems a clear cut case of a Zat Knight own goal. I like to avoid awarding them, unless there is a clear case for using Rule 3.1.1 or Rule 2.1.1 but what sways me here is the celebration from Muntari who appears to claim to have scored it and celebrates a little too much for my liking. Fans can celebrate an own goal in the same way as a screamer; their view is often obscured and perhaps the deflection is not obvious until they get to see it later on MOTD, but for Muntari, it’s obvious, he knows his cross is not on target, and he knows there’s nobody following up to tap it in. In effect he’s celebrating his own ineptitude to not score, or find a teammate who would have a tap-in to an open goal. Therefore, there is absolutely no way I can give Muntari any credit for this at all.
Verdict: Zat Knight own goal
Chris Harvey
I’m quite torn on this goal…I know who it should be awarded to but as I dislike the player, I’m finding it hard to credit him with the goal. There’s something about Muntari that I just don’t like. I think he’s over-rated and it bothers me that someone of his limited ability has played for Inter Milan. I think it’s why, amongst many, many other reasons, that I’ve always found it difficult to like Robbie Keane. For this goal, Muntari does do well and I’m pretty sure the ball is going in before Knight intervenes, so in line with Rule 3.1, Muntari should get the goal. I should also state that, as usual, I would definitely have been claiming the goal. However, I’m a Spurs fan so inconsistency runs through me. I’m not a big fan of Zat Knight, I think he’s crap. Also, when he slides in for the ball, how does he actually expect to do anything other than divert it in? Even as footballers go, I imagine Knight to be low in the intelligence stakes and while it may have been an admirable effort to try and stop the ball going in, I think there was only going to be one outcome.
Verdict: Zat Knight own goal
Matt Little
A good team move from Sunderland has led to Sulley Muntari being put through. In my eyes Adam Bogdan has saved the shot, it is going to flash across the face of goal and Zat Knight has inadvertently smashed it in, for what people who don’t follow football like to call “a home goal”. The most important point being that Boggers has saved the original shot leading me to conclude….
Verdict: Zat Knight own goal
The Dubious Goals Committee Decision: Own goal awarded to Zat Knight / Muntari isn’t anyone’s favourite Ghanaian / Footballers are ignorant of mathematics / Zat Knight got an England cap, really?
Follow @TheDGCommittee on Twitter as well as it’s members: @MattTickner, @Jimmydan, @TheYoungMcmahon, @Chris_Harvey85 and @matt_idle
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