own-goal

Noun

own goal (plural own goals)

1. A goal that results from a player putting the ball or puck into the goal of their own team; the resulting goal being scored for the opposition.
   • Madagascar's soccer authorities have banned Stade Olympique de L'Emyrne (SOE)'s coach and four of the team's players after they scored a world record 149 own goals in a match last month.2002 November 29, “Team punished for 149-0 own-goal farce”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   self goal, autogoal

2. (figuratively) A blunder that damages one’s own prospects.
   • In its penultimate year, for example, starting from when the Provos blew up Canary Wharf in February 1996, the IRA suffered its last 'own goal' when Wexford-born Ed O'Brien blew himself up on a London bus whilst transporting a bomb.2008, Henry McDonald, Gunsmoke and mirrors: how Sinn Féin dressed up defeat as victory