Left field

By Phil O’Connor

Sweden defender Mikael Lustig will have no excuse for forgetting to hold his position against England in Euro 2012 - his mistake on the post for Ukraine’s second goal in Kiev has sparked a tactical Twitter meme that will take a long time to live down.

With the scores level at 1-1, Ukraine won a corner and Lustig took his place on the goal-line defending the near post. 

But unfortunately for Sweden, the right back stepped out too early, allowing Andriy Shevchenko the gap he needed to squeeze that winning goal past him.

Despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic letting Shevchenko have a free header, the Twitter verdict on Lustig’s mistake was merciless, and the hash tag  #hållenstolpe (“hold the post”) was soon trending in his Scandinavian homeland.

Twitter users took pictures of themselves holding all manner of posts, from those holding up traffic signs to a wide variety of street lamps.

Their message to Lustig? It’s THIS easy to hold the post.

Expect him to do a better job of holding the post against England in their next Group D match on Friday - and if he doesn’t manage it, there are thousands of Twitter users who can show him how.