The opening of Allianz Field in Week 7 was memorable for many reasons, but it’s safe to say this is one moment that Sean Johnson would soon like to forget.
The New York City FC goalkeeper committed a first-half own goal in a 3-3 draw against Minnesota United FC. It gave MNUFC a momentary 3-2 lead just before halftime.
Johnson received a ball played back to him from Ebenezer Ofori and tried to touch it into space with the outside of his right foot. Instead, he directed it into his own net for a stunning own goal.
In spite of the gaffe, both head coaches were sympathetic about the play and lauded Johnson's overall quality.
“People will talk about it but he’s a really good 'keeper," MNUFC manager Adrian Heath said, "He’ll recover from that.“
NYCFC head coach Dome Torrent agreed.
“Sean is amazing. Sean has personality, because after we concede the goal — everybody concede the goal, not just Sean — he played amazing. He played with confidence," Torrent said postgame. "The most important thing that means he has personality to play with the top teams because it’s not easy to play after that. And he played amazing in the second half and I’m proud of him … it’s not easy to recover from that.”
For his part, Johnson owned up to the mistake.
"There's no point in making excuses," Johnson explained to reporters. “Mistakes happen. It’s about responding to it. There was a lot game left to play … Obviously disappointed to let the guys down in that moment, but these thing happen. They know. I apologized to them, I put my hand up and we moved forward and everyone assured me they have my back on the day and we came away with a point.”
