Influence of the preceding sequence of actions on goalkeepers’ performance when facing deceptive penalty kicks

Whilst it is widely documented that performers’ can deceive by manipulating their unfolding kinematics, it is yet to be explored whether the contextual pattern of actions can be manipulated to deceive an opponent or the role of such information in employing a successful deceptive action. Previous research has shown that anticipation and interception performance in fast-ball sports declines when facing an action that violates a previous pattern (incongruent) compared to when facing an action that continues the preceding pattern (congruent) (Gray, 2002; Loffing et al., 2015). However, researchers are yet to explore whether the ability to successfully deceive an opponent is influenced by manipulating the congruence of the deceptive action with the preceding pattern. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to determine how manipulating the sequence of a penalty takers kick direction influences an opposing goalkeeper’s ability to successfully anticipate and intercept deceptive actions. The research aims to investigate whether football goalkeepers will be less successful at saving deceptive penalty kicks that are incongruent with a previous pattern compared to deceptive kicks performed when there is no previous pattern (no congruence), and deceptive kicks that are congruent with a previous pattern. The findings of this research will determine to what extent where the deceptive action is placed in a sequence is important to its success in misdirecting an opponent.