A great move, player gets to the byline and drills a cross into that ‘corridor of uncertainty’ between the goalkeeper and defensive line.
But how many times have we seen the ball evade everyone and fly ‘out the back gate’ and off for a throw?
That’s where you see the cleverness of Robbo’s assist for Richy’s goal to open the scoring in Saturday’s pre-season encounter against Hoffenheim.
Sandro Tonali made the initial break and rolled a pass into Robbo’s path. Immediately, Robbo spotted Richy’s position and instead of driving the cross into that corridor, cut his pass behind the line of defenders straight to Richy, who dispatched in style first-time with his left foot.
The cross made the goal as we went on to win 3-0 - Mikey Moore scoring twice - and we spoke to Robbo about what goes through his mind in that split-second before he delivers…
“I think it's just what you see in that moment,” he told us. “When the ball is on its way to you, you kind of look up, You kind of see what situation is going on there.
“So, I felt as the defenders were dropping a little bit, it was better to not flash it. I think the one before that, I tried to flash across the face of goal. Richy’s smart, as well, so when he sees the defenders drop, he then checks back a little bit.
“Sometimes, when everyone's dropping back, it's best to go against the movement. It's just really what you see and you can change it all the time. Sometimes you put it in the ‘corridor’, and sometimes you have to cut it back a little bit.”
It was put to Andy that it seemed a lot to process in such little time. “Yeah, in the split second, there's so many thoughts that go through your head. It's up to you to make the right decision. Luckily, I made it this time and, hopefully, I make the right decisions more often than not! It was great for Richy to score this time.”