Just as there is a definite knack to penalty-taking, so too is there a skill in putting the taker off his game.
That’s the job of the goalkeeper and having experience of training with the man standing 12 yards away from you can often pay dividends when you line out for different clubs.
That wasn’t the case with Joe Hart who attempted to get into Harry Kane’s head on Sunday.
Spurs had just been awarded a penalty and Hart, who has trained with Kane on England duty, told the striker that he knew which way he was going.
After a question at the Junior Fans’ Forum, @HKane reveals exactly what Joe Hart said to him before his penalty… pic.twitter.com/rokVYuQ8HL
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2016
“Because we practice quite a lot when we’re away with England, he said ‘I know you like to go to the ‘keeper’s right and I know you like to go down the middle as well. I think you’re going to go down the middle.’
“So I just said ‘OK.’
“And then I put it down the middle.”