Dear all.
I'm a bit confused by the phrases "to pick out", "mercy" and "scuff (a shot)" here. Could you shed any light on those words? Incidentally, in the phrase " break in numbers on the counter", "To break" means to attack and "on the counter" means to counter attack, so what does this sentence mean?
87' Horrible fro Bony! City break in numbers on the counter. Toure picks out De Brune, who plays an absolutely stunning ball forward to pick out Bony. The striker has the goal at his mercy, but scuffs his first-time effort miles wide! The flag went up for offside anyhow, but he knew little about it.
Some great questions again!
You are right to think that the phrases to break and on the counter basically mean the same thing. They are often used combined like this to add emphasis.
For pick out - see our latest post (thanks for the idea!).
At his mercy means the player can choose what to do, there is no-one to stop him/her. So the goal is at his mercy means the goal is unguarded, it is open, the player has a free shot.
To scuff - see our football glossary entry here.
Wow, thank you so much, Grell, for the great explanation! That's so clear now.
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