Shaka Hislop’s best games

West Brom 3 Reading 0 September 9, 1992 Division Two

“My professional debut, but also against my childhood hero Ossie Ardiles, who managed West Brom at the time. I grew up as a huge Spurs fan, and he was my favourite player. After the game, I nervously waited for him to sign my programme – it still has a central place in my collection. The game itself was early in the season, in what’s now known as League One. At the last minute, our first-choice goalkeeper got injured and manager Mark Mcghee asked me to play. It was a major shock for me and we lost 3-0, but I accomplished my dream of becoming a professional footballer.”

Newcastle 2 Liverpool 1

November 4, 1995 Premier League

“My first season with Newcastle, and my first season in the Premier League. We won the game, and I managed to make arguably the best save of my career – from a deflected shot from Steve Mcmanaman. I played pretty well overall, and the atmosphere at St James’ Park was unbelievable that day. I knew after that game that I could hold my own at Premier League level.”

Liverpool 3 West Ham 3 (3-1p)

May 13, 2006 FA Cup final

“My final game in England, and my last FA Cup final. Even though Steven Gerrard scored those two goals and we lost, that game still resonated with me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I’d been on the bench for the couple of finals before, with Newcastle. This time I got the chance to play as Roy Carroll, a good goalkeeper and a good man, was injured. Secondly, I did it at the club where I spent the longest in my career. I spent five years with West Ham, in two spells. In the first spell, we finished 5th – the club’s highest-ever finish in the Premier League. I enjoyed my football the most with West Ham. It’s still a special club for me.”

Trinidad and Tobago 0 Sweden 0

June 10, 2006 World Cup

“Our first ever World Cup finals. I got to play as Kelvin Jack got injured during the warm-up – then I kept a clean sheet against Zlatan Ibrahimovic! We were underdogs against a strong European side and, to make things worse, one of our players got a red card at the beginning of the second half. We had our backs against the wall throughout the second half, and Sweden came close a couple of times. However, midway through the second half, a Sweden defender came up for a corner and was arguing with Henrik Larsson, right in front of me. At that moment I thought, ‘We won’t lose this’. I was right! A draw was a tremendous result for us. It was probably the best game of my career.” Martin Harasimowicz