AFCON outfielder playing in goal sends fans wild by heading instead of catching
Comoros’ stand-in goalkeeper at the Africa Cup of Nations sent fans wild after rushing out and heading the ball instead of catching it.
The tiny island nation were forced to play a 5ft 7in left-back in goal for their last-16 clash with Cameroon after first-choice goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina was struck by injury.
With a Covid crisis also ruling out their two back-up keepers, up stepped left-back Chake Alhadur to deliver one of the tournament highlights as a make-shift shot-stopper in one of his nation’s most important matches ever.
And despite his side eventually losing 2-1, the 30-year-old endeared himself to fans all over the globe with some iconic goalkeeping.
One notable moment came when a pin-point Cameroon long ball threatened to cause havoc.
Alhadur, wearing Ousseini's goalkeeper top with his own No.3 taped over, sprinted out and bravely met it on the edge of the penalty box with his head.
It won’t have mattered to Alhadur that he could have used his fists to punch it, having cleared the danger in no-nonsense fashion and successfully avoided any risk of Cameroon scoring.
Bewildered fans rushed to commend his “defensive instincts” and heroism on Twitter.
One wrote: “Full credit to the Comoros goalkeeper for clearing a cross in his box with a header rather than catching it.”
Another tweeted: “The defensive instincts in this Comoros goalkeeper taking over him. Feels more like a centre-back than GK.
“See where he is and how he's eager to join play.”
Do you think Comoros v Cameroon was the game of the tournament? Let us know in the comments section.
Don't miss a thing with our football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?
Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.
And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.
You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.
Alhadur and his teammates fought back valiantly from a seventh minute red-card and being 2-0 down, threatening a comeback courtesy of a stunning free-kick goal by Youssouf M’Changama.
However, despite several stunning saves by their unlikely hero, the 12 Covid absentees meant they were eventually bested by the tournament hosts.
Source: Read Full Article