by Michael Sawh

Created on: February 14, 2009

Goalkeeping can be a lonely business; for most of that ninety minutes while your your fellow teammate's muscles are strained to their limits, pressing the opposition and fighting for possession, you stand focused, hands shivering in your clammy gloves waiting for your moment to shine or ultimately be held responsible for loss. It takes someone of great character to remain poised when your contribution can sometimes be so paltry, it can however be an even desolate existence when you and your gloves don't even make it off the bench.

When you get the call you really have to seize the moment, none more relevant to the Hackney-born goalkeeper, who has, for much of his time to show his worth has had to wait patiently be it to pull on the colours of his club or the red, black and white of his country.

Not cut from the conventional of footballers, the studious Neil Shaka Hislop moved from his North London birth place to uproot with his family to Diego Martin, Trinidad. Shaka shared aspirations to play at the highest level of the game with a similar thirst for academics. His rapid rise in the game would come in hand with his commitment to further his education which took him to America. Winning a scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering at Howard University in Washington DC, Shaka was also making a name for himself for the Bison soccer side. As a freshman starter he helped lead the side to the NCAA Division 1 College Cup final losing out 1-0 to Indiana courtesy of a Sean Shapert penalty at the Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Just as fellow Trinidad and Tobago teammate Dwight Yorke found his route into English football, Shaka was spotted back in 1992 whilst keeping for the MISL side Baltimore Blast, the club he was drafted to after graduating from Howard. A pre-season trip saw an indoor friendly match with Aston Villa, with one of the scouts to be watching on intently from the sidelines from division two side Reading F.C. The Berkshire club were clearly impressed by what they saw of young Shaka and swiftly offered him professional terms with the club in time for the 1992-93 season.

Shaka would help Reading enjoy somewhat of a revolution first under Mark McGhee who led them to the 1993-94 Division Two title and then in contention for an automatic promotion place to the Premier League, before McGhee left for Premier League side Leicester City in December 1994. The joint team management of players Mick Gooding and Jimmy Quinn took a side of youth players and a smattering of international

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