It's not often that a penalty gets retaken for the goalkeeper coming off his line early. It's even more rare that, no matter how justified, a sideline referee will feel emboldened enough to call it twice in a row. But that's exactly what we saw during DC United's 3-2 win over the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Video: Portland Timbers Get Three Shots At Penalty
Both times, the referee got the call right. Bill Hamid came at least a step off his line (although not 2-3 yards like Timbers announcer Robbie Earle said) and did cut down Kenny Cooper's angle.
It was pretty impressive that Hamid was able to compose himself after the first save to still make the second, and neither of Cooper’s attempts were particularly badly taken. You can definitely understand why he reacted the way he did.
But, give the referee credit for sticking to his guns. Hamid broke the rules, gave himself an advantage and got called for it. There are too many referees who won't make the first call, let alone the second. Also worth crediting John Spencer for making the tough decision to let captain Jack Jewsbury take the attempt despite Cooper's pleas to get one more shot. Tensions were high and it was definitely the right call to change it up.
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