Arp rues missed penalty: "Sorry to the team and the fans for spoiling everything."
Holstein Kiel striker Fiete Arp's converted penalty earlier this season enabled him to score his first Bundesliga goal in over seven years. Had the 24-year-old been able to concert from the spot again last night, Fiete Arp's team might have been discussing something other than their ninth defeat in 12 Bundesliga rounds thus far this year.
Arp had to deputize for the injured Steven Skrzybski in attack yesterday evening as the Storks travelled to Hamburg to take on FC St. Pauli. Alexander Blessin's "Kiezkicker" struck first via a Manolis Saliakas goal in the 25th minute. Shortly before it was time to head into the tunnel, Arp blew his chance to equalize with a poorly taken penalty in the 45th.
The failure obviously affected Arp significantly. The former Bayern academy man happens to be a native of Schleswig-Holstein; the only German state not to have a representative in the Bundesliga over 60 years until Kiel's promotion this season. Arp also played for St. Pauli rivals Hamburger SV for many years. From his perspective, the case of lost nerves was unacceptable.
"It hurts a lot," Arp remarked in his post-match interview with German broadcaster DAZN, "Things would have been very different if I made it. The saved penalty was probably the most important moment in the game. We would have gone into the locker room feeling quite differently."
"It was simply a poor take," Arp continued, "I wanted to send it low into the corner, but I didn't strike it in the way I intended. If I had shot it right, he wouldn't have held it. I'm incredibly sorry for the team and the fans for spoiling all our efforts today."
