Having looked at the top (statistically) performing goalkeepers in League One I applied the same metrics to have a closer look at the stoppers in League Two and how they are faring this season.
As I used a minimum of 35 matches as a marker for League One, I have done the same for League Two but this has meant that some of those in the top five are quite a way down the list but are behind goalkeepers with far fewer appearances. (These statistics were taken before kick-off in Easter Monday’s fixtures)
Clean Sheets
Leading the way by some distance is Lawrence Vigouroux of league leaders and very close to being promoted Leyton Orient, with a very impressive 22 clean sheets from his 39 matches. He is followed by Tomas Holy of 3rd placed Carlisle United and Harry Lewis of 6th placed Bradford City who has 17 shutouts apiece. Completing the top five are two goalkeepers in sides who have found the going tough this season and who sit 19th and 18th respectively in the league table: Glenn Morris (14 clean sheets) of Gillingham and Nikola Tzanev (13 clean sheets) of AFC Wimbledon.
With the first three goalkeepers playing for sides in the top 6, it perhaps isn’t surprising that they are the ones with the most clean sheets. Both Gillingham and AFC Wimbledon don’t concede an awful lot of goals, both letting in less than 7th-placed Mansfield Town, despite their lowly league positions.
https://twitter.com/leytonorientfc/status/1628094702389010433
Save Percentage
The top five using this metric appear very similar to those we have seen before, with only Tomas Holy not appearing and being replaced by Solomon Brynn of Swindon Town (there are others with a higher percentage, but Brynn has appeared in the 35 matches). Vigouroux again leads the way, saving over 78% of shots faced, Glenn Morris makes second on the list with a percentage of 75.2 and he is just ahead of Bradford’s Lewis who sits on 74.6%. Brynn (70.8%) is joined by Tzanev (70.1%) of AFC Wimbledon.
Saves Per 90 Minutes
Swindon’s Brynn is the highest-performing goalkeeper to have made 35 appearances, making an average of 3.1 saves per match, followed by another top-five appearance for Glenn Morris who makes 2.9 saves a match. Tzanev (2.7) and Lewis (2.6) appear again but third in this category goes to Jonathon Mitchell of Doncaster Rovers with 2.8 saves per 90 minutes.
This stat, again, has so many variables. Not least how good your team are at defending and how many chances you have to show your goalkeeping talents. Of course, when the opposition do get a chance you have to be good enough to stop it.
https://twitter.com/TheGillsFC/status/1617152989327757313
Goals Prevented
This metric in League Two is a little out due to the number of goalkeepers in it with a limited number of appearances. There is, however, a standout at the top and that is Leyton Orient’s Vigouroux with an impressive 6.1 goals kept out that should have gone in.
Only Morris and Lewis of those with enough appearances have positive xGOT, with 1.5 and 0.4 respectively. Behind those, we have Tzanev (-1.5) and Brynn (-1.6). I find this metric useful in the sense that, even though his side is regularly winning, it proves that Vigouroux is making vital contributions and making saves that are potentially vital to his team.
Goals Conceded Per 90 Minutes
Vigouroux’s excellent statistical return continues with only 0.6 goals conceded per game he plays and he is joined in conceding less than one per game by Lewis and Holy who both average 0.9 per game. Gillingham’s Morris is joined on 1 goal conceded per game by Walsall’s Owen Evans.
Writer’s View
With Leyton Orient flying high at the top of the league and Lawrence Vigouroux featuring heavily in the above metrics, it would be hard to argue that he tops the charts when it comes to League Two goalkeepers. Glenn Morris’s statistics add up well for someone playing in a team in the lower echelons of the table and a special mention to Jack Rose at Sutton United. Rose has made 32 appearances for Sutton this season and has kept 11 clean sheets, making 2.3 saves per game and has a save percentage of almost 73%. His goals conceded per 90 minutes average would have him ahead of Holy and Lewis on 0.8.
