A very strange goal was scored in the match between Vancouver Whitecaps and Los Angeles Galaxy. The main protagonist was not even a footballer, but the ball, which resisted its destiny until the very end.
In the closing minutes of the match, Bruno Caicedo stepped up to take a penalty. Goalkeeper John McCarthy guessed the direction of the shot and touched the ball. It seemed the keeper had saved his team, but the ball slowly rolled back and still crossed the goal line.
It was at that very moment, apparently, that it realised what it had done.
The ball spun sharply and rolled back out onto the pitch, never having touched the net. It was the most hesitant goal of the season: it went in, looked around, and immediately came back out — like a person who accidentally opened the door to the wrong toilet.
The goalkeeper at first thought he had saved the penalty. The ball pretended to agree with him completely. But the referees were adamant: it crossed the line — so it's a goal. The system also confirmed that there was no way back.
This unusual penalty set the final score — 3:0 in Vancouver's favour. What's more, the goal was officially credited to Caicedo, even though half the work was done by the goalkeeper, and the other half by the ball itself, which was going through a severe internal conflict.
This was, perhaps, the first goal that didn't want to be scored, didn't want to stay in the net, and generally asked not to be dragged into football disputes anymore. 😄
