In this football language post we explain the phrase ‘sweep home‘ which is used to describe a goal being scored. Don’t forget we have hundreds more explanations of football language in our football glossary and we also have a page full of football cliches. If you have questions or comments about this or any other phrase then email us at: admin@languagecaster.com.
Football Language: Sweep home
The word ‘home‘ in football is used in many different ways: the home team, playing at home and the home fans all describe where one club side is based, so when Spurs play Liverpool in London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium they are the home side, playing in front of their home fans in their home stadium. Home is also used when helping to describe scoring a goal – home here means the goal; where the ball has to go in order for a goal to be allowed – so we can say smash home, slot home, head home, volley home, glance home and sweep home among others. They all mean that a goal has been scored but in different ways. For example, smash home suggests the ball was hit with power, head home is clearly used to describe a goal scored with the head such as a glancing or a bullet header, while sweep home gives the impression that the ball has been hit first time and maybe with the side of the foot. To sweep the ball home also suggests that the ball does not leave the ground and is not hit with too much power – there is a sense that it is placed into the net.
Example: The visitors had opened the scoring in the 16th minute after a nifty combination when RB Leipzig forward Patrik Schick swept home a pass from Jakub Jankto with his left foot (Eurosport, 2019).
Example: The Spaniard then superbly swept home Chilwell’s pinpoint cross for his second before finding the bottom corner with a left-footed shot to complete his treble. BBC.co.uk
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