It seems easy doesn’t it? Put the ball down from 12 yards and all you need to do is beat a goalkeeper who cannot physically cover every angle to keep it out. Certain players are clearly better than others at picking out such areas, and also defeating the goalkeepers in all of the various kidology that occurs in the build-up.
There are countless ‘penalty kick specialists’ up and down the country and all across the globe. The Sky Bet Championship is no different and although we could easily name many more than five, we have come up with our top five from all of the takers this season.
It would be easy to pick those that have simply scored the most penalties, but there could be ‘better’ spot kick takers that have scored and taken once, compared to those that have maybe taken five and scored twice.
Remember, if you feel as though we have missed out someone who maybe scored the penalty of the century this season and deserves a mention, then let us know in the comment section below. Alternatively, use one of our various social media outlets to inform us of your views.
*All information correct at the time of writing* Source: Transfermarkt
Joe Garner (Preston North End) – Two penalties, two goals
Joe Garner has endured a difficult campaign this season on the goalscoring front. He was stuck on just a couple of goals for a very long time and is now starting to showcase some of his clinical ability in front of goal once again. It is when players go through such barren spells that penalties can be an ‘easier’ way of scoring. The ex-Nottingham Forest man has taken two so far this season and scored them both.
In December and then April, Garner beat Jonathan Bond and Jason Steele of Reading and Blackburn Rovers respectively when scoring both of his spot kicks this season. To make these penalty seem even more effective, Preston won both matches by a one-goal margin, indicating that these really were pressurised spot kicks.
He strikes the ball so cleanly and is the type that never panics in front of goal. Preston have plenty of players that could easily step up and score, so he must be doing something good in training to keep the competition at bay!
Switch to the next page to reveal someone who has actually missed a penalty this season!
