West Ham would be well advised to ensure they beat Macclesfield Town in the regulation 90 minutes, when the two clubs meet in the third round of the Carabao Cup later this month.
With extra time abandoned this season, any Carabao Cup ties not settled in the standard 90 minutes will go immediately to penalties - which might be good news for the League Two side.Embed from Getty Images
And that's because the Silkmen can lay claim to an extraordinary record of NEVER having lost a penalty shootout in their 144-year history - even if they have participated in only nine shootouts during that time!
Macclesfield claimed their latest spot-kick scalp on Tuesday night when an entertaining Checkatrade Trophy tie with Blackpool ended 3-3, before Town went on to win the ensuing shootout 5-3.
The shootout kings now boast an incredible record of P9, W9 - potentially bad news for the Hammers, who have seen several League Cup ties go beyond the standard 90 minutes in recent seasons.
Macclesfield's record in this season's Carabao Cup
Sep 2018: Macclesfield 3-3 Blackpool (Macclesfield win 5-3 on penalties)
Aug 2018: Walsall 3-3 Macclesfield (Macclesfield win 3-1 on penalties)
Aug 2018: Macclesfield 1-1 Bradford (Macclesfield win 4-2 on penalties)
Embed from Getty Images
Meanwhile West Ham's overall record in competitive shootouts is rather less impressive, with the Hammers having succeeded in just five of their 11 spot kick tests (one of which was overturned), as follows:
Nov 1988: Watford 1-1 West Ham Utd (Watford win 3-1 on pens)
Feb 1998: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 (West Ham win 5-4 on pens)
Mar 1998: West Ham Utd 1-1 Arsenal (Arsenal win 4-3 on pens)
Dec 1999: West Ham Utd 2-2 Aston Villa (West Ham win 5-4 on pens*)
Sep 2001: Reading 0-0 West Ham Utd (Reading win 6-5 on pens)
Oct 2002: Chesterfield 1-1 West Ham Utd (West Ham win 5-4 on pens)
Feb 2005: Sheff Utd 1-1 West Ham Utd (Sheff Utd win 3-1 on pens)
May 2006: West Ham Utd 3-3 Liverpool (Liverpool win 3-1 on pens)
Aug 2014: West Ham Utd 1-1 Sheff Utd (Sheff Utd win 5-4 on pens)
Jan 2015: West Ham Utd 2-2 Everton (West Ham win 9-8 on pens)
Jul 2015: Birkirkara 1-0 West Ham Utd (West Ham win 5-3 on pens)
* Result overturned due to ineligible player, Aston Villa won the replay.
* Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
