Not
for the first time in the last few years, we (and Damian Batt in
particular!) owe Ryan Clarke a huge debt of gratitude for his
penalty-saving brilliance, without which the Barnet match would
probably have ended in another frustrating home draw. More impressive
is that he played at all, given that he had been up all night with
illness.
Subsequently,
there have been plenty of figures flying around; some say it's 11
saves from 14, others say 10 from 15. Having scoured the archives
today, I make it that Clarke has faced 17 penalties in competitive
matches, saving 7 of them. Not as sensational as some thought but
pretty impressive nonetheless. Interestingly, of the 9 penalties
Clarke has faced in the Football League, he has saved 6.
SCORED
Clarke
was called into action in just his second match between the sticks.
Kettering's Jean-Paul Marna got the wrong side of the defence and was
sandwiched between Clarke and Chapman. Clarke dived left, Marna shot
right to give Kettering a one-goal lead.
SAVED
With
United a goal up, Clarke was called on to protect the lead after Paul
Lorraine was pulled down by Damian Batt. Danny Kedwell had already
scored two penalties earlier in the season, but was denied by Clarke
who sprung to his right to tip the ball past the post and keep Oxford
in the lead.
SAVED
This
was a bit of a bad day for Oxford, but it could have been so much
worse if not for Ryan Clarke's penalty save. Kiddy were already 3-1
up, but had the chance to do more damage when Matthew Barnes-Homer
was clipped by Steven Kinniburgh. Robbie Matthews had already scored
twice but was denied a hatrick as Clarke scrambled to his right-hand
post to keep the ball from hitting the net for a fourth time.
SCORED
This
one hurt quite a bit. With Oxford deservedly leading Barrow by a goal
to nil in the second round of the FA Cup, Luke Foster got himself got
himself sent off after barging Robin Hulbert as he charged in on
goal. Clarke went the right way, but Bond's strike was too fast and
well-placed for him to stop. United duly lost to in the replay up in
Cumbria and missed out on a third-round tie away to Sunderland.
SCORED
With
Oxford 3-0 up and cruising, Chelmsford were granted a lifeline when
Batt was mysteriously adjudged to have handled in the area. Clarke
was well-beaten by the resulting penalty, David Rainford blasting it
into the roof of the net.
MISSED
Minutes
later in the same match Chelmsford were awarded another, slightly
dubious-looking, penalty after a tangle in the penalty area. However,
Clarke's skills weren't needed as Rainford blazed over the bar.
SCORED
In
one of the biggest games of the season, we travelled to league
leaders Stevenage. It was a poor match and didn't deserve a goal.
However, one came from the penalty spot, following a trip from Clist
on Beardsley. Laird stepped up to take it, and although his penalty
was nowhere near the corner, Clarke had already dived to his right.
SCORED
On
the last day of the regular season, it was an understrength side who
travelled to Eastbourne Borough, who still needed a win to save
themselves from relegation. However, first choice keeper Ryan Clarke
did make the team and it was he who was called into action when, in
the dying moments of the match, Mark Creighton was harshly adjudged
to have handled. Former U Simon Weatherstone stepped up to take the
kick, sending Clarke the wrong way to seal Eastbourne's status in
dramatic fashion.
30/10/10
v Bradford
SCORED
Our
trip to Bradford last season was a day to forget, falling to five
second half goals. The third of those was a controversial penalty.
James Hanson took a tumble in the penalty area and Lee Hendrie
stepped up to take the resulting penalty. Clarke saved it, but the
referee spotted some infraction and ordered it to be retaken. Hendrie
made no mistake the second time round, putting it the other way this
time and burying it in the corner.
29/01/11
v Cheltenham
SAVED
Late
in the game, with the two sides level at 1-1, the referee
controversially awarded a penalty when he adjudged Jake Wright's
challenge on Brian Smikle as a foul. With barely ten minutes
remaining Wes Thomas stepped forward to take the penalty, but Clarke
went the right way to salvage the point.
19/02/11
v Morecambe
SAVED
Realistically,
this match was already over as a contest when Morecambe were awarded
a penalty for a push by Batt on future Yellow, Tony Capaldi. However,
Clarke was able to maintain the clean sheet, throwing himself to his
right to save from Wilson.
12/03/11
v Port Vale
SAVED
Port
Vale were awarded a penalty when Ben Purkiss was harshly ruled to
have pushed Tom Pope in the area. Marc Richards took the kick, which
was excellently saved by Clarke as he dived to his left,
however
he was unable to push the ball away from goal and Richards followed
up to net the rebound.
10/09/11
v Burton
SCORED
At
2-0 up we looked to be cruising, but the momentum changed after
Burton were awarded a soft penalty. Former-Yellow, Justin Richards
took the spotkick and buried it in the left-hand corner, leaving
Clarke stranded, before running off to taunt the Oxford fans.
SCORED
There
had been no doubt that Oxford were the better side midway through
this match, and we looked comfortable with a 1-0 lead. However, a
rare moment of madness from Michael Duberry saw him almost decapitate
Jared Sims. Simon Walton levelled the scores, sending Clarke the
wrong way.
SAVED
Duberry
conceded a penalty for the second game running as he felled Marc
Richards, threatening to undo Leven's
magic from earlier in the game. However, Clarke was on hand to
stop him, diving to his right and palming the ball away to preserve
United's lead.
SAVED
Coming
in the 95th minute, following a hand ball decision against
Damian Batt, and with Northampton already 2-0 down, Adebayo
Akinfenwa's penalty seemed unlikely to significantly change the
match. However, that didn't stop Ryan Clarke from seeking to maintain
his impressive penalty-saving record, stretching down to his left to
push the shot away from his goal.
SAVED
With
Oxford desperately clinging on to a slender 2-1 lead in the dying
minutes of the game, Barnet appeared to have found a last-minute
equaliser when referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot after a
clumsy challenge from Damian Batt on Ricky Holmes. 17-goal Izale
McLeod stepped up to take it, but Clarke stopped it with his legs to
secure the points.
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