Caley Thistle goalkeeper Mark Ridgers has been putting the extra hours in to adapt to the controversial new IFAB rule on penalties.
The ruling was among a series of changes implemented this summer, forcing goalkeepers to have at least part of one foot on the goal line as a penalty is taken.
Scotland fell victim to the ruling during the women’s World Cup last month when goalkeeper Lee Alexander saw a saved penalty against Argentina brought back for a retake after VAR showed she had strayed off her line. The subsequent spot-kick was scored to make it 3-3 and send the Scots out of the tournament.
Ridgers is eager to ensure he complies with the new ruling, with the 28-year-old preparing for the possibility of penalties to determine tomorrow’s decisive Betfred Cup match against Dundee.
The former Hearts and St Mirren goalkeeper has already been involved in one shoot-out during the competition, with Ridgers missing a spot-kick as Caley Jags lost out on the bonus point to Peterhead at Balmoor.
Ridgers hopes for better fortune should tomorrow’s game go all the way, and he said: “We’ve seen quite a few penalty shoot-outs in this campaign. Hopefully, if it does happen, I can do a wee bit better than I did against Peterhead.
“I never really study penalties too much, because you could look at someone take five the same way and that one time they go a different way.
“I go on instinct, although I’ve been working a wee bit on the new rule about movement on the line.
“It is really difficult because as soon as you take a step your body-weight goes forward.
“The only way you can go the other way is by moving your other foot, but that’s a foul now.
“You have to guess right or hope it is a poor penalty. It’s something we’ve been working on and will continue to work on throughout the season.
“If it comes to that, hopefully I’ll be able to play my part and the boys play theirs.
“It’s all about getting into the next round as that’s the important thing – getting further than we did last year.
“Peterhead was the first I’d lost and the first time I’d ever taken a penalty. Hopefully it’s the last as well.”
Inverness have not advanced past the group stage of the competition since Ridgers joined his hometown club from Partick Thistle in 2017, and he is eager to book a last-16 spot, with both teams locked on seven points ahead of the Dens Park encounter.
He added: “We said at the beginning of the campaign our aim was to win the group. We’ve tried to put ourselves in a position to do that.
“Performances have been a bit up and down in the three games we’ve played, but you kind of expect that ahead of the league campaign.
“There have been some crazy results elsewhere, with so-called smaller teams picking up points.
“We’re where we wanted to be and it is in our hands to do the job and qualify for the next round.”
