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Sports

Tuesday March 3, 2009

United keeper Foster uses iPod to help stop penalties in shoot-out

LONDON: From razor-sharp reflexes to extraordinary courage, Ben Foster has been able to rely on some impressive qualities during his rise to prominence with Manchester United, but even he must have doubted the ability to squint at a tiny iPod video screen would ever come in handy.

United goalkeeper Foster was the hero of his club’s League Cup final victory over Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday thanks to two fine saves during the match and another even more important intervention in the penalty shoot-out.

It was Foster’s superb stop of Jamie O’Hara’s spot-kick in the penalty finale that gave United the push they needed to lift the League Cup — and he had no qualms about revealing the secret of his success.

United’s goalkeeping coach Eric Steele had made a compilation of video clips of Tottenham’s players taking penalties in previous matches and put them onto an iPod so Foster could get a glimpse of where they were likely to put their spot-kicks.

In the final moments before the shoot-out Foster could be seen intensely studying the iPod with Steele. It was time well spent.

He plunged to his left to keep out O’Hara’s penalty — crucially denting Tottenham’s morale after just one kick — and also went the right way as David Bentley shot wide.

“Me and Eric Steele looked at a little iPod before the penalties were taken. It had a video of their penalty takers,” Foster said.

“It’s a new one for us. When Eric came to the club I’d never seen anything like it before. I don’t think any of us had. It’s a fantastic tool for us.”

Foster also sought advice from Edwin van der Sar, United’s regular keeper, who was rested as Alex Ferguson gave some of his understudies a chance to take the limelight.

“Edwin hasn’t got a bad record on saving penalties. I just remember him saying that if any of the young Tottenham lads step up then try to do everything within the laws to be intimidating,” Foster said.

“I stood up for as long as possible with O’Hara and just managed to get my hand to it.”

After three and a half years consigned to the role of a bit part player at United, Foster, who has had two loan spells at Watford, is finally starting to feel at home with the Premier League champions.

This was just Foster’s seventh United start thanks to an unfortunate combination of van der Sar’s superb form and a cruciate knee ligament injury that sidelined him for 12 months.

Ferguson has no doubts that Foster, who began his career in non-league with Racing Club Warwick while working as a chef in his hometown of Leamington Spa, can become United and England’s long-term keeper.

“The future is his. The present belongs to Van der Sar, that is obvious, but that performance can only strengthen my opinion of his ability and his own self confidence,” Ferguson said.

“He is a strong character. He has had to come through two cruciate ligament injuries and you have to have something inside you to do that.” — AFP

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