In the world of acting, when you ‘fluff your lines‘ it means that you make a mistake in a play, and forget or make a mess of the words you are meant to say.
Could that slang term apply to football? Possibly. Especially when a striker misses the chance to put the ball in the back of the net.
Some would argue that it applies to Celtic striker Patryk Klimala. The striker, who as reported by the Scottish Sun cost £3.5m, missed two excellent chances in the recent 3-0 win over Motherwell.
Unlucky with first chance
He was perhaps a bit unlucky with the first chance he had. He looked certain to score from a cross into the box, but a touch from the goalkeeper took the ball under his feet.
Klimala really should have scored his second chance though. He was clean through on goal after taking advantage of a defensive error but hit his shot far too close to the goalkeeper, who was able to make the save.
So, Klimala should probably have scored twice, and definitely should have scored once on the day. However, it should be remembered that he has not played that much football for Celtic since joining the club.
He has made just nine appearances for the Hoops since January, and has only started in one of those games.
However, despite that lack of football, he showed excellent intelligence and movement for the chances he had against Motherwell.
Good movement created chance in first place
It was his movement in the box that led to his first chance, which surely would have been a goal has the goalkeeper not got a touch on the ball.
For the second chance, he used his speed to steal and pinch the ball after a Motherwell error. Sadly only the finish let him down.
So, he might have fluffed his lines when it came to scoring. However, there was enough shown by Klimala that he is worth persevering with.
Indeed, Klimala didn’t let the missed chances go to his head. On Friday evening he scored for Poland’s under-21 side against Estonia in their 6-0 win. That is the sign of a good striker.
In other news, James Forrest is looking forward to a possible match-up against his brother.
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