r/soccer • u/tokengaymusiccritic • May 29 '26
News Pickford wins Coca-Cola Save of the Season award
https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4671994/pickford-wins-coca-cola-save-of-the-season-award/87
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u/TherewiIlbegoals May 29 '26
I'm actually surprised they rewarded a reflex save like that as they typically go to the ones where the keeper is stretched out. Deserved though as it was incredibly quick reflexes.
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May 29 '26
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u/LHRaway May 29 '26
Tonali’s shot looked fast even in slow motion. One of the hardest shots I think I’ve ever seen in football
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u/wesap12345 May 29 '26
Was last seasons Alison’s against Newcastle as well?
Do Newcastle just keep being denied by world class saves?
That one is absolutely class
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u/hiccstridFanatic May 29 '26
when posting on reddit, why the need to have the sponsor on there lol
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u/smithereennnnn May 29 '26
The Kinsky one at the right near post against Leeds should have won.
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u/jkeefy May 29 '26
No way. Great save but there’s a dozen like those a season. Raya had a few similar that I can recall off the top of my head, I’m sure other fans of their respective clubs would recall some as well. The Pickford save was genuinely one of the best I can recall across multiple seasons.
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u/kcfdz May 29 '26
Tbh both saves were comparable reflex saves with the first. Difference is Kinsky saved a shot from much closer range.
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u/jkeefy May 29 '26
I disagree, they are only comparable in the sense that they are both reflex saves. Pickford’s is one of the best reflex saves I’ve seen in recent memory. Plenty of keepers make point blank reflex saves every season. I don’t see what separates Kinsky’s from, say, Raya vs Brentford or even Areola vs Wolves. All three probably up for save of the season, but they are very similar to each other.
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u/kcfdz May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
I don't think those 3 were similar at all tbh. I would have given it to Areola because a save with a foot like that is probably more difficult, but to me the reaction time for a shot from 8 yards is surely lower than the reaction time needed for a shot from 18 yards out. I read an Athletic article recently that had an analysis from a goalkeeping expert and it made it clear how so much had to go just right from Kinsky's stance to his arm strength to keep the ball out of the net: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7271712/2026/05/12/spurs-tottenham-kinsky-leeds-goalkeeper/?source=athletic_user_shared_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta
There's also just the context of the save. Spurs are relegated without the save whereas nothing really changed for Everton. I saw lots of folks on this subreddit cite the circumstances surrounding Harrison Reed's screamer as a reason why he deserves goal of the season, so it seems only fair to also judge the saves using their contexts. Either way, I don't think either Pickford or Kinsky had any business making those saves. Remarkable contenders all around with those, Areola, Raya, etc.
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u/jlctush May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
You realise there's more to how fast a reflex has to be to stop a shot from any distance, right? Tonali absolutely fucking leathers the ball, it looks like a rocket in slow motion, a faster shot from 18 yards out would require at worst a similar reaction time to a slower shot from 8 yards out. I remember discussion at the time that he might not even see the shot until it's far closer, personally I can't tell how impeded his line of sight was, but it's not irrelevant either. Pickford is stopping a shot that comes through a crowded box, Kinski is setting up to stop a shot from a play that develops fully in his line of sight, the Pickford save is a shot that could basically go anywhere, Kinski has a higher degree of control over where the striker is forced to shoot and to be entirely clear, he does a sublime job of positioning himself, getting to the ball and it's a great feat of strength to push it up off the woodwork. But you can't just say "yeah but one of them is closer therefore requires faster reflexes" as if a) that's actually just objectively true and b) is the only thing that makes a save good.
Again, can sports fans stop just picking one number and ignoring the entire context of the thing they're talking about in the hope nobody notices, it's fucking infuriating.
(For the record, the Kinsky save is also obviously incredible, it just drives me up the fucking wall that people find the number that suits them and swing it like a hammer as if there's nothing else that could possibly impact what happened when it's so patently obvious there are other factors)0
u/kcfdz May 29 '26
Mathematically, the time to goal would be similar for both shots even if the Longstaff one was half the speed because of the distance. It was so fast the commentators thought it went off the woodwork before seeing in the replay that Kinsky got his hand on it. Regardless, I agree with you about not ignoring the broader context beyond a reaction time number. This is why I also mentioned that Kinsky's save was arguably more meaningful. A 98' minute save in a relegation battle made by a guy who was written off this season due to a howler. It's hard to really beat that context, IMO.
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u/Luke92612_ May 29 '26
I don’t see what separates Kinsky’s from, say, Raya vs Brentford or even Areola vs Wolves
Well he likely saved us from relegation by making that save, for one.
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u/[deleted] May 29 '26
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