(a) Sitter
This is used to describe when a player misses a really easy chance, usually in front of goal. This word usually collocates with the verb ‘to miss‘ – ‘to miss a sitter‘ and sometimes we add a word to make this seem even worse – ‘an unbelievable sitter’, ‘an absolute sitter’ or ‘an incredible sitter’. Imagine a player hitting the ball wide or over the bar with no opponent in front of them – this would be a sitter as it seemed easier to score.
Players can miss a sitter because of all sorts of reasons – maybe the player is either lacking in confidence or is over confident, while sometimes the ball can move unexpectedly on the pitch (it bobbles) which makes the player miss their kick or take their eye off the ball. Whatever the reason, it is embarrassing when a player misses a sitter.
- Example: Michael Ballack missed a sitter in the final of the European Championship final against Spain and his team went on to lose.
- Example: ‘Richarlison misses absolute sitter during Everton v Tottenham’ (Eurosport.co.uk, September 2020)
Related Vocabulary
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