Weekly Football Phrase: Scorpion Kick

The phrase we’re focusing on today is “a scorpion kick”.

This phrase was used to describe Dominic Solanke’s second goal for Tottenham against Man City. He flicked the ball into the net with his heel, so from behind his back. The movement of his leg looked like the tail of a scorpion, curled around and reaching up to his shoulders. A scorpion kick is when the player kicks the ball with their heel, the back of their foot, usually when the ball is behind them and there is no time to turn. It’s an amazing goal.

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Here is how MSN.com described it: “Dominic Solanke’s breathtaking scorpion kick delivered a major blow to Manchester City’s Premier League title bid as Tottenham fought back from two goals down to draw 2‑2.”

Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (a Bayern Munich fan)

(a) Brace

DB: But if we look at that MSN.com sentence again, we can see that the score was 2-2 – Tottenham fought back from two goals down to draw 2‑2. The two goals for Tottenham were scored by Solanki, so he scoreed a brace. When a player scores two goals in the same game, we say they score a brace.

For example:

• Solanke scored a brace against Manchester City.
• His brace earned Tottenham a point.

So instead of saying he scored two goals, it is common and maybe more natural to say he or she scored a brace.

(to) Dent Their Title Hopes/Chances

DB: Again, let’s go back to the MSN.com quotation. It said: Solanke’s breathtaking scorpion kick delivered a major blow to Manchester City’s Premier League title bid.

A major blow means it was a very negative result for Manchester City. In this case, you may hear their title chances were dented or Tottenham dented their title hopes.

The verb dent originally means to make a small mark in metal. In football, it’s used to mean damage or weaken, but not completely destroy.

Notice that this phrase suggests City’s chances are still alive, just a bit weaker.

Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (in Cameroon)