Jaaskelainen losing was not in the equation

When you haven’t played a competitive match for West Ham since January, the chance to play 120 minutes and a penalty shoot-out in the Capital One Cup is something to be relished, but for goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen losing was not in the equation.

After hardly having a shot to save in the match, the 39-year-old Finn was in at the deep end in a shoot-out against Sheffield United on Tuesday, only to fail to save any of the five kicks.

“I can’t remember how many penalty shoot-outs I have been in, but I am a little bit disappointed that I didn’t do better,” he said.

“I think a goalkeeper should be able to save one in three penalties. I think the first four were decent penalties, but maybe the last one I could have got, but it is a little unfortunate.

“I did get a good hand to one of them, but it was just a bit too high to stop.”

It was Jaaskelainen’s first appearance since the Capital One Cup semi-final against Manchester City, but this time he didn’t have so much to do.

“I thought we played all right, but we just couldn’t get it in the back of the net,” he said. “They got a bit of a lucky goal and that is the way it goes in football.

“It is always disappointing to lose in the cup because we wanted to have a good go.

“I wanted to get through so I could play more games. It was a very quiet game for me, until the end anyway. There was not much for me to do.”