Petr Cech saves two penalties in winning ice hockey debut

SHOWS: GUILDFORD, NEAR LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 13, 2019) (HAYTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. PETR CECH (39) BEFORE THE MATCH

2. GUILDFORD PHOENIX (WHITE) AND SWINDON WILDCATS 2 (RED) TEAMS LINED UP BEFORE THE MATCH

3. PETR CECH CONCEDING A GOAL TO MASON LIPSEY (91)

4. SCOREBOARD SHOWING THE FINAL SCORE AS 2-2

5. PETR CECH PREPARING FOR THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT

6. PETR CECH SAVES PENALTY FROM HARRY LLEWELLYN (23)

7. PETR CECH SAVES DECIDING PENALTY FROM MASON LIPSEY (91) TO WIN THE MATCH, GUILDFORD PHOENIX PLAYERS POUR ONTO THE ICE TO CONGRATULATE CECH

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETR CECH SAYING:

"All I wanted to do, I wanted to play the best possible game I could. I concentrated on myself and obviously hoped that it's going to help everybody to stay focused and win the game and this is what happened."

9. WHITE FLASH

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETR CECH SAYING:

"You know, I was surprised because I didn't know what to expect, but, at the same time, I played at the highest level for 20 years so, I know how to prepare for the game. About an hour before the game, I switch to my sort of 'match day mode' and you could see all these feelings, concentration and all that automatically came back like it used to happen every football game, so it was nice to see that my body is still ready to execute whenever I need."

11. WHITE FLASH

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETR CECH SAYING:

"It's kind of like a dream, a childhood dream, to come and play one game which happened, nobody will ever take this away from me, so which is really nice."

13. PETR CECH BEING CONGRATULATED AFTER THE PENALTY SHHOTOUT

STORY: Former Premier League goalkeeper Petr Cech proved himself a cool customer no matter the surface on Sunday (October 13), saving twice in a penalty shootout on his ice hockey debut to help fourth division Guildford Phoenix beat Swindon Wildcats 2.

The 37-year-old, who made more than 600 appearances for Chelsea and Arsenal, called time on his soccer career at the end of last season but announced last week that he was joining Phoenix and would play for the British team in his spare time.

Cech, currently Chelsea's technical and performance adviser, was named man-of-the-match for his heroics in goal and said he had surprised himself with his coolness under pressure in the penalty shootout.

"I didn't know what to expect so it was nice how quickly my body switched into match day mode," said Cech, whose last soccer appearance was in the Europa League final between Arsenal and Chelsea in May.

Cech is a lifelong ice hockey fan who played the sport as a youngster before switching to soccer.

He wore the jersey number 39 in tribute to former goaltender and two-times Stanley Cup champion Dominik Hasek, who played in the American National Hockey League for 16 seasons and helped the Czech Republic win gold at the 1998 Olympics.

"It was a childhood dream for me to play even one game of ice hockey," added Cech, who also wore a helmet emblazoned with the logos of both Arsenal and Chelsea. "I've done that now and nobody can take that from me."

(Production: Mike Brock)