A goalkeeper is arguably under the most pressure out of anyone on a football pitch, with every mistake they make likely to be punished with a goal.
But the Swedish top-flight might have just produced one of the worst mistakes you will see all year.
League leaders Hacken played Hammarby on Sunday afternoon and stormed into an early lead thanks to winger Benie Traore and a huge mistake from Hammarby’s goalkeeper.
Traore capitalises on a huge mistake
Ironically, Traore was actually ruled out for a significant amount of time in this same fixture back in March 2022.
The 20-year-old suffered a severe leg injury in a Svenska Cupen game against Hammarby, and he spent eight months recovering.
But he could not have hoped for more opposite fortunes in this fixture.
At the start of the game, a Hammarby defender plays a pass back to his goalkeeper, Oliver Dovin.
The ‘keeper then walks forward in an attempt to play the ball out from the back.
However, Dovin appears to have been deceived by the sunlight in his face, and inexplicably walks forward while the ball is behind him, mistaking the penalty spot for the ball instead.
It’s almost like watching someone with terrible internet play a game of FIFA!
Traore, running in from the left flank, does not need a second invitation, storming past the confused goalkeeper to tap the ball home into an empty net.
You can see the full clip for yourself below.
Watch: Hammarby shot-stopper produces one of the goalkeeping errors of the season
By the time Dovin had realised what he had done, it was all too late, with Traore wheeling away in celebration.
The goalkeeper, meanwhile, looked completely dejected.
It was hardly the start that Hammarby wanted to make to the game, but the perfect one for league leaders Hacken.
And unfortunately for Dovin, the clip has been viewed thousands of times, with football fans enjoying themselves at his expense.
It was to be an excellent afternoon for Traore, who went on to score a first-half hat-trick against his opponents.
Although Hammarby managed to get one goal back through Tesfaldet Tekie, they went on to lose the game 3-1, a result that means they drop to fifth place in the table.
Luckily for Dovin, this was just the second game of the Swedish league’s season, with plenty of football still to come.
But this is not a result that Hammarby will want to remember – and it is certainly a performance that Dovin will be keen to forget as soon as possible.
