The unusual technique that could be the key to Chloe Kelly’s 111kmph penalty success: Fans say Lioness preps like a ‘high jumper’ for nerve-shredding spot kicks
- Kelly, 25, has now scored two vital penalties using the ‘hop’ technique
- Read more: ‘England star Lauren James apologises to Nigerian player for stamping on her back after she told under fire Lioness that she forgave her
Lioness Chloe Kelly’s distinctive penalty technique is causing a stir amongst England fans since the forward fired her team – with a 111kmph spot kick – into the quarter finals of the World Cup yesterday.
So unique is the 25-year-old Man City player’s approach to the ball on the penalty spot that it’s been compared to a high jumper’s run-up, the Grinch’s hop and the iconic Crane kick in Karate Kid.
One fan called Kelly’s technique ‘absolute madness’, while another branded it ‘bizarre’ after the nail-biting match against Nigeria that saw England go through 4-2 on penalities.
Whatever fans’ views, the technique’s clearly working; Kelly scored a similar penalty with the same technique, clinching the first ever women’s edition of the Finalissma against Brazil in April.
Rocket: Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty for England against Nigeria clocked in at 111km per hour…with her fire-power coming from an unusual technique
And yesterday the forward saved ten-woman England’s bacon after they fought to stay in the match following Lauren James’ dramatic sending off for landing her studs in an opponents’ back.
The Man City star, who hails from Southall in West London, uses a rhythmic approach to the pressure-laden spot kick, leaning back on her right foot and lifting her left knee high to start her bespoke manoeuvre.
Kelly then lifts her right heel off the ground and launches on to just the toes of her right foot.
The left leg then drops and her run to the ball begins, culminating in a fierce right foot strike.
Pictured scoring the winning penalty at the Finalissima against Brazil in April, Kelly’s technique has attracted plenty of attention amongst England fans
On social media since the match, fans have been commenting on the unusual technique.
One wrote: ‘Chloe Kelly’s dramatic paused hop before blasting in the winning penalty should become ICONIC.’
Another compared the kick to being the equivalent of ‘loading an Uzi’, saying: ‘No keeper is saving that. What a hit.’
One fan left surprised by the technique’s success wrote: ‘Wow, that was such a bizarre penalty technique from Chloe Kelly. The moment I saw it, I thought she was missing it. But what a stunner.’
Yesterday’s thunderous penalty into the top left hand corner put England in the last-16 and was more powerful than any Premier League goal scored last season, figures show.
It has now been revealed that her thumping effort clocked in at a stunning 111km per-hour – by far the most powerful shot of the Women’s World Cup so far and even more powerful than any effort from the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
Previously West Ham’s Said Benrahma registered the most powerful strike of the domestic campaign, with his shot coming in at 107.2km per-hour.
Her thumping effort was more powerful than any Premier League goal scored last season
Kelly’s penalty secured a 4-2 shootout win for the Lionesses to book a World Cup quarter-final spot
Kelly said herself she felt totally confident in her strike and fully believed it would hit the back of the net despite the pressure facing her.
‘For me, [my mentality] is, ‘I’m going to score’ – that is how I look at it, once I win that mental battle we are good.
‘We have been practising (penalties) a lot actually and it has been working.’
She added: ‘It’s amazing, anything that is thrown at us we show what we are capable of. We dig deep as a group and we believe in our ability and in what we are told to do.
‘This team is special, we did it in the Euros and the Finalissima and we keep pushing forward. There is more to come from this team.’
Source: Read Full Article
