Adam Bogdan has spoken out about an incident from which he’d probably like to move on quickly.
Bogdan said Sunday Nathan Ake’s goal in Watford’s 3-0 Premier League win over Liverpool shouldn’t have counted, according to The Liverpool Echo. Ake put Watford ahead for good in the third minute — after Bogdan failed to catch Ben Watson’s corner kick inside his goal-mouth.
Bogdan first dropped Watson’s delivery, then appeared to control it on the bounce momentarily. Ake’s foot then dislodged the ball from Bogdan’s grasp and shot into the inviting goal. Referee Mark Clattenburg declined to call a foul on Ake and awarded Watford the opener.
Bogdan suggested the goal shouldn’t have counted but admits his error set the stage for Ake to strike.
“It was a wrong time to concede,” Bogdan said of Ake’s third-minute strike, according to The Liverpool Echo. “I dropped the first ball which is a mistake, I hold my hands up, but I felt I recovered the ball, and he kicked it out of my hands. But if I catch the first one it’s not a goal.
“I had both hands on the ball but we are talking about a split-second. It’s not easy for the referee to see. If I catch the first ball there is no second one.”
Bogdan was making his Premier League debut for Liverpool in place of the injured Simon Mignolet, who suffered a hamstring strain in the lead-up to the game.
Ake’s goal was the first of Bogdan’s many shaky moments, but the 28-year-old Hungarian vows the harsh debut lessons will spur him to work to eliminate such gaffes from his game.
“Something went wrong, I have to think about it again,” Bogdan said. “It was a mistake and I will learn from it.
“I felt good, it wasn’t nerves. I trained hard for this chance and it started as a nightmare. I don’t blame the referee or anyone else, I go back to train and work hard.”
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@ESPNFC
