Jacob Raw

Sun 5 April 2026 20:40, UK

West Ham United suffered a cruel FA Cup penalty shootout loss to Leeds United this Sunday, as Ally McCoist reacted fairly unprofessionally towards Alphonse Areola’s injury.

The Hammers were knocked out of the quarter finals of the FA Cup by Leeds, who will now go on to face Chelsea at Wembley for a spot in the final.

Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side battled through adversity the whole game, only for it to count for nothing, with concerns now mounting over Areola.

Young goalkeeper Fin Herrick came off the bench to make his debut, dramatically saving Joel Piroe and Leeds’ first penalty of the shootout, coming close to earning hero status had the Irons prevailed.

Areola came off with a suspected ankle issue, but the cramp that the goalkeeper first received treatment for seemed to amuse McCoist.

Ally McCoist downplays Alphonse Areola’s injury: ‘That can’t be right’

The London Stadium was bouncing against Leeds, and though many fans left throughout the game, just about the same amount were trying to get back into the ground after 90 minutes.

Goals from Mateus Fernandes and Axel Disasi forced the game to extra time, as Areola was unable to stay on the pitch for the shootout.

While speaking live on TNT Sports, McCoist made it clear that he thought Areola was partaking in some form of gamesmanship when he went down, joking about the situation.

McCoist said: “What’s going on? That can’t be right, a goalkeeper can’t get cramp. I’ve seen it all.”

Moments later, Areola was seen being helped off the pitch by two figures, while appearing to be in severe pain.

Considering the Frenchman was moments away from being able to make himself the hero of the day, he wouldn’t have left the pitch if it wasn’t a serious matter, especially with all responsibility then falling to young Herrick.

West Ham now face an anxious wait for an assessment on the shot-stopper, with important Premier League games coming up.

Mads Hermansen has two big reasons to look over shoulder

Mads Hermansen was not picked to be in the squad to face Leeds, with the former Leicester City keeper set to play in the Premier League for the Hammers.

However, the Dane has been in and out of Nuno’s starting lineups, and his spot isn’t safe with seven games to go.

Herrick looked composed and showed his ability to come up with big moments for the Irons, making the stop to deny Piroe, before his older colleagues failed to follow up from the spot.

Not only that, but Areola was superb once again, and without him, the game would never have gone to extra time in the first place.

If the 33-year-old’s injury isn’t as bad as feared, then he will surely be pushing Hermansen for a spot, with Herrick most likely now in Nuno’s thoughts.