Football
ESPN staff 6y

MSV Duisburg keeper Mark Flekken pays price for switching off at wrong time

Goalkeeper gaffes are nothing new in football, but the manner in which Duisburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken covered himself in shame on Saturday might just be a sporting first.

In his side's 2. Bundesliga match against Ingolstadt, the Dutch keeper went from hero to zero in a matter of seven minutes, stopping a penalty in the 11th minute before conceding a goal so cringeworthy it will be played on loop in blooper reels for years to come.

After an Ingolstadt goal kick, Ingolstadt quickly worked the ball down field and sent a dangerous aerial ball into the box. With Ingolstadt forward Stefan Kutschke right on his back, Duisburg centre-back Gerrit Nauber raced to the ball and headed comfortably back towards his goalkeeper. One problem. Goalkeeper Flekken was nowhere to be seen, and Kutschke taps in from point-blank range with the goal completely unguarded.

But where was Flekken? Well, it appears the Dutchman was a bit parched and had chosen to go for an ill-timed drink from his water bottle!

On replay, you can see that Flekken completely turns his back to play and goes for a drink, not realising his mistake until the ball is already across the goal line. In utter embarrassment, Flekken remains rooted to the ground at the back of his goal, mirroring a goalkeeper glitch from a video game.

Flekken's teammates will likely never let him live this moment down, but the good news for him is that Duisburg still won by a score of 2-1. Flekken was a good sport after the match, saying "The next games, I do not put my drinking bottle in the goal".

Probably a good idea, Mark.

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