Matchweek 11: A Glancing Header

Introduction  

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to our weekly round-up section called ‘This Week’ on Premier Skills English.

Rich: Hi there. I’m Rich. We’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

Jack: We want you to use and practise these phrases by interacting with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Rich: If you listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you can leave your comments in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.

Jack: You can find all our latest content on the Premier Skills English homepage or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page. 

Rich: Let’s start our round-up of Matchweek eleven with our headlines.

Headlines

Jack: City leave it late against Southampton.

Rich: Most thought this would be a walk in the park for Manchester City after Southampton lost 9-0 last weekend but City fans were pulling their hair out after James Ward Prowse gave the Saints a first half-lead. It took until the 70th minute for Sergio Aguero to find City’s equaliser and Kyle Walker broke Southampton hearts when he found the winner with four minutes to go.

Jack: Reds leave it even later against Villa.

Rich: Villa took a shock first-half lead against Liverpool when Trezeguet scored with a volley for the hosts. It looked like Villa would hang on for a famous victory but Andy Robertson scored a back-post header in the 87th minute and Sadio Mane scored with a beautifully placed glancing header in the fourth minute of injury time. Liverpool stay six points clear of City ahead of their big title clash on Sunday.

Jack: Andres Gomes in horror injury.

Rich: Turkish striker, Cenk Tosun, scored with a bullet header in injury-time for Everton but the match was overshadowed by a serious injury to Everton midfielder, Andres Gomes. The Portuguese international was stretchered off following a tackle from Tottenham’s Heung MIn Son and an awkward fall. The match finished one all.

Jack: Yes, we all wish Andres Gomes a speedy recovery.

Rich: There were also good wins for Leicester City, Chelsea, Sheffield United, Brighton and Newcastle United in Matchweek eleven.

Vocabulary alert!

Jack: In our vocabulary alert, we look at some football English that we used in the headlines.

Rich: Our six words and phrases this week are: a walk in the park, to pull your hair out, a volley, a glancing header, a bullet header and to be overshadowed by something.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrases we used to talk about the Manchester City - Southampton match. We said that many thought this match would be a walk in the park for City.

Rich: A walk in the park is something we do on a Sunday afternoon with family and friends or the dog. It’s easy and relaxing and there’s no need to rush or hurry.

Jack: And we use this idiom to describe something that is very easy to do and usually enjoyable. Many people thought that the match would be very easy for Manchester City - a walk in the park - but it wasn’t.

Rich: The next phrase is to pull your hair out. This is another idiom and it means to be very worried or frustrated about something.

Jack: City fans were pulling their hair out in the second half and Southampton were still winning. 

Rich: You can pull your hair out or tear your hair out. They mean the same thing. I’m tearing my hair out about my computer - I just can’t get it to work. 

Jack: Our next two phrases come from the Aston Villa - Liverpool match. The first is a volley. A volley is a shot which you hit when the ball is in the air.

Rich: You strike the ball before it bounces. If it bounces and then you hit it, it’s called a half-volley. It can also be a verb. He volleyed it into the goal. 

Jack: It’s also used in tennis to describe the same kind of shot. You have players that serve and volley.

Rich: Good knowledge. There’s also volleyball. Every shot is a volley in volleyball because the ball can’t touch the ground.

Jack: I think you’re right but I’m not sure as I don’t know enough about volleyball.

Rich: Right, our next phrase is a glancing header. We have a phrasal verb in English to glance off which means to hit something at an angle and move in a different direction.

Jack: This is why we use the term glancing header. The ball hits the head and goes in a different direction. 

Rich: But all headers do this - what makes a glancing header different?

Jack: A glancing header is not about power, it’s about angles. The player usually only touches the ball a little to change the angle slightly. A glancing header is often needed if a player is at the front post.

Rich: Finally, let’s look at the phrases from the Everton - Tottenham match. We said that Cenk Tosun scored with a bullet header.

Jack: This is very much the opposite of a glancing header. The ball is crossed into the box, usually at speed, and the striker throws his head onto the ball and the ball flies into the net like a bullet.

Rich: They are usually quite spectacular. Or final phrase this week is to be overshadowed by something. We said that the Everton match was overshadowed by the injury to Andre Gomes.

Jack: To be overshadowed by something means an event is less enjoyable because of an action that happened. 

Rich: So, the football match was less enjoyable because of the horrible injury that happened on the pitch. The match was overshadowed by the injury to Gomes.

Jack: OK, so there are our six words and phrases. Listen to this part of the podcast again if you are not sure how to use them.

Rich: The words and phrases are:  a walk in the park, to pull your hair out, a volley, a glancing header, a bullet header and to be overshadowed by something.

Football Awards

Jack: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. 

Rich: The awards are Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week.

Jack: In the comments section, you need to tell us if you agree with our choices.

Rich: Let’s start with Player of the Week. Kyle Walker rescued the game for City with a goal and an assist and Sadio Mane rescued Liverpool even later.

Jack: But our Player of the Week is Caglar Soyuncu. Leicester City’s Turkish defender scored at the weekend but more importantly helped the Foxes keep another clean sheet. No team has conceded fewer goals than Leicester this season.

Rich: Team of the Week is tricky this week. There were great comeback wins for Manchester City and Liverpool, and Chelsea and Leicester carry on winning.

Jack: But our Team of the Week is Sheffield United. A 3-0 win and the Blades are up to sixth place. Not many would have predicted that at the start of the season.

Rich: Finally, our Goal of the Week. We’re going to leave this one to you. We’re going to give you three options and you need to tell us which you think was best.

Jack: Goal number one: Jonjo Shelvey for Newcastle Utd against West Ham. A precise free-kick that turned out to be the winner for the Magpies.

Rich: Goal number two: Trezeguet for Aston Villa versus Liverpool. A nice volley for the Egyptian’s first goal for the club.

Jack: Goal number three: Cenk Tosun for Everton v Tottenham. A bullet header from the Turkish striker to grab a point for the Toffees in injury time.

Rich: OK. Those are our three options. Did you see them? Which do you think was the best? Let us know your choice and if you agree with our other weekly awards in our comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Matchweek Prediction 

Jack: Every week, Rich predicts the result of one Premier League match and we want you to make your prediction, too. Not a bad prediction last week, Rich?

Rich: I know. Lots of people thought Manchester City would smash Southampton but I knew it would be much closer.

Jack: This weekend is the biggest match of the season so far. The top two go head to head at Anfield. Let’s hear your prediction.

Rich: Liverpool play Manchester City with a six-point cushion at the top of the table. A Liverpool win would create a big gap at the top and I think Liverpool will go for it and set up to win. I’m not sure that City will go all out to win and might not be too unhappy with a point. For this reason, I think we might see a low scoring match. I’m going to sit on the fence with this one and predict a draw. Final score: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City.

Jack: I think City need to win this more than Liverpool so I think City will win 2-1.

Rich: Let us know in the comments section how many goals you think City will score against Southampton.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for. I hope you have enjoyed this football round-up. Join the discussion at the bottom of the page on the Premier Skills English website. 

Rich: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, don’t forget to leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.