On Friday, March 16th, the South Bucks Standard published a match report for the Wycombe Wanderers v Grays United game played on March 10th.
The referee was a Mr. G G Llandragin, and the match started over an hour late in pouring rain due to the Grays team's late arrival with the two teams lining up as:
Keen did not appear for Wycombe after half-time and played with ten men for the rest of the game. Hooper fouled Grays' Williams for the second penalty of the match.
Bartlett was given the opportunity of scoring, but to the relief and amusement of the home spectators he put the ball wide of the open goal.
Shortly after, Ray fouled McKiernan, for Grays' second penalty:
but Williams' shot was as much out on the right hand side of the post as Bartlett's had been on the left, roars of laughter greeting the failure.
A minute or two later and Tilbury was again tripped in the penalty area for the fourth penalty of the match which was...
successfully taken by Busby, who beat Law all ends up, and put the Wanderers four goals up.
No details of times are given, but the report continues:
Bryan was presented with another opportunity of scoring, the fateful tripping propensities of the Grays' defence mulcting them in another penalty, which Busby this time shot straight at Law, who turned the ball over the bar.
At this point, the referee booked one of the Grays players "presumably for bad language" but "the tale of penalties was not yet complete" as Wycombe's Hooper handled in the area.
The taker of the sixth penalty of the match is not named, but the kick was "slammed straight at Vickers".
Wycombe added one more goal to win the match 5:0 - penalties awarded 6, penalties scored 2.
Is FOUR missed penalties in one match a record for senior football in England?
Is FIVE penalties in one half a record?
For the (only) FIVE penalty matches, here is a summary of them.
On Easter Monday, 27 March, 1989, referee Kelvin Morton awarded four penalties to Crystal Palace and one to Brighton and Hove Albion, all within a 27 minute period.
Palace scored their first penalty awarded after 38 minutes through Mark Bright giving them a 2:0 lead, but missed their last three; Mark Bright (Saved), Ian Wright (Missed - hit the post), John Pemberton (Missed) while Brighton scored theirs (Alan Curbishley).
Perry Suckling was in goal for Palace, while John Keeley was the Brighton keeper.
Palace held on to win the match 2:1 - penalties awarded 5, penalties scored 2.
A little over ten years later, in a Copa América Group Stage match in Paraguay between Argentina and Colombia, referee Ubaldo Aquino also awarded five penalties.
Palace held on to win the match 2:1 - penalties awarded 5, penalties scored 2.
A little over ten years later, in a Copa América Group Stage match in Paraguay between Argentina and Colombia, referee Ubaldo Aquino also awarded five penalties.
Three were awarded to Argentina, two to Colombia and Argentina won the match 3:0.
The first penalty was awarded to Argentina in the 5th minute, and Martin Palermo skimmed the top of the crossbar.
In the 10th minute Colombia's Ivan Ramiro Cordoba scored and Colombia led 1:0 at half-time.
In the 48th minute, Colombia were awarded a second penalty, this time taken by Hamilton Ricard but it was saved by Germán Burgos
The second penalty awarded to Argentina was in the 76th minute. Palermo again took the kick, but again missed, this time hitting the ball cleanly over the crossbar.
All three Argentina penalties were taken by Martin Palermo, and none were scored. The first hit the crossbar and went over, the second went over the bar by several feet, and the third was saved by goalkeeper Miguel Calero.
Colombia scored two more goals and led 3:0 when the third penalty for Argentina was taken - again by Palermo - in the 90th minute. He was denied for a record third time by a save from goalkeeper Miguel Calero.
The match finished 3:0 - penalties awarded 5, penalties scored 1.
The record for most penalties taken by one player in a game (shootouts excluded) is FOUR, held by the rhymey Cameron Brannagan who scored all four penalties awarded to Oxford United in their 7:2 win at Gillingham on January 29, 2022.
