Joe Lumley conceded five times in place of the injured Aaron Ramsdale during Chelsea's routing of Southampton on 4 December; Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers supporters will feel Saints fans' pain.
Southampton boss Russell Martin has had to contend with the injury to his first-choice goalkeeper Ramsdale, since the England international required surgery to fix a finger issue in mid-November.
Alex McCarthy was given the nod in Saints' 3-2 defeat to Southampton on 9 November, but in the two Premier League games since against Brighton and Chelsea respectively, Martin has turned to former Middlesbrough and QPR keeper Lumley to start between the sticks.
The 29-year-old has endured a torrid time of it, however, which it's fair to assume many of those from a Boro and Rangers persuasion will likely have predicted given his performances representing their respective clubs...
Joe Lumley's recent Southampton displays
Boro and QPR fans will share the pain
Southampton's Joe Lumley
Eyebrows across the fanbases of QPR and Middlesbrough will no doubt have been raised when Southampton's lineup for their meeting with Brighton had Lumley starting in goal.
Lumley was almost caught out of position outside his box early on - a feature of his game that QPR and Boro supporters knew all too well -, but luckily for him, Mitoma's effort flew past the wrong side of his near post.
Mitoma would eventually beat Lumley though, as he steered a header past the Saints keeper from around 10 yards out, which although not in the corner of the net, was one that would be unfair to blast Lumley over.
However, his performance against Chelsea did bring about criticism. The Blues put five past Lumley on Wednesday night, and whilst the Saints were reduced to 10 on 39 minutes, it's important to note that Enzo Maresca's side had already scored three by that point.
Lumley failed to beat Axel Disasi to Enzo Fernandes' corner on his near post after seven minutes, before a head-scratching decision to wander out of his box before playing a misplaced pass towards his Kyle Walker-Peters allowed Noni Madueke to pinch to ball and square it to Christopher Nkunku, who rolled it into an open net on 17 minutes.
Lumley did get a strong hand to divert a Cole Palmer shot onto the post, but on 34 minutes, Madueke would fire the ball into the far corner to make it 3-1, which the Southampton keeper couldn't do much about.
Into the second half, and Lumley was almost made to pay for spilling a fairly routine save from a Palmer effort back into the six-yard box, but Madueke couldn't put the ball into an empty net on the rebound.
Palmer eventually scored one of the easiest goals he'll ever score on 76 minutes, after Lumley went to ground after being sold by a cut-back onto his left foot by Nkunku, before the ball rolled its way into the path of Palmer, who tapped in from a couple of yards out.
Jadon Sancho made it five on 87 minutes, beating Lumley on his near post despite the Saints keeper getting a hand on the effort, capping off a torrid night at St. Mary's for him and Southampton.
Lumley won and lost the starting goalkeeper role with Queens Park Rangers
Joe Lumley playing for Queens Park Rangers
After spending time with Tottenham, Lumley came through QPR's academy system as a youngster, before being eventually handed the chance to win the starting goalkeeper job at Loftus Road for the 2018/19 season.
He would make 42 Championship appearances for the R's that year, during which he conceded 58 times and kept 14 clean sheets. However, his save percentage stood at just 66.1 percent, with his passing accuracy standing at 50 percent, and his long ball accuracy being 37 percent - per FotMob.
His performances that season would see him share the starting job with Liam Kelly for the 2019/20 season, before he firmly lost it for the 2020/21 campaign. Future Middlesbrough goalkeeper Seny Dieng took over that year, as he spent a short period on loan with Gillingham and Doncaster during that term.
Lumley endured a torrid, mistake-laden season with Middlesbrough
Joe Lumley playing for Middlesbrough
Come the summer of 2021, his contract was up with QPR, and Neil Warnock handed him a Championship lifeline by signing him on a free transfer to Middlesbrough.
What transpired was, in the minds of many Boro supporters, one of the poorest seasons from a Middlesbrough goalkeeper in recent memory, and ensured his stay on Teesside would come to an end after just one year.
|Lumley's QPR & Middlesbrough career stats - per Transfermarkt|
|Club|Appearances|Goals conceded|Clean sheets|
|---|
|QPR|84|120|23|
|Middlesbrough|39|42|14|
In a mistake-laden season, Lumley made 34 appearances in the Championship, in which he conceded 34 times, registered a save percentage of 66 percent, prevented -6.22 goals, fielded a passing accuracy of 53.9 percent and a long ball accuracy of 31.7 percent - per FotMob.
Whilst there were flashes of athleticism and shot stopping ability during his time at the Riverside, Lumley's positioning and decision-making cost Middlesbrough time and time again, with cheap goals being surrendered on pretty much a weekly basis.
He was prone to charging recklessly outside his box as he tried to play a sweeper-keeper role for Boro, but more often than not they ended up hurting Boro due to them largely being mistimed and misjudged.
Ultimately, he would be loaned out to Reading for the 2022/23 season, before leaving Middlesbrough and signing for Southampton on a free transfer in August 2023.
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