City’s young goalkeeper was unexpectedly called up when both Andreas Isaksson and Joe Hart went down with injuries towards the end of the week.
The visitors took the Thomas Cook Trophy thanks to an early goal David Silva, but Kasper told mcfc.co.uk he would take the positives from the biggest occasion of his City career, a day that saw him at the opposite end of the pitch to his personal hero.
Kasper says: “It was brilliant to play against a side like Valencia, for some reason I’ve always been a Valencia fan since I was five, and now I’ve played against my absolute idol in Santiago Canizares.
“It was a brilliant feeling to play, but result-wise I’m very disappointed. It’s a horrible feeling to lose at any time, especially in front of our own fans. I thought we played well, hit the bar twice, created a few openings and they did not have that many chances.
“I’m gutted for Andreas and Joe, but their injuries have given me a chance to play my first game in this stadium, in front of a big crowd and against such a quality team.”
After parrying Angulo’s shot in the 10th minute, Kasper could only watch as the rebound fell straight into the path of Silva, but the keeper was philosophical about his fortunes, saying:
“Sometimes you’re lucky, but this time I wasn’t. I’ll look back on the video and think that maybe I should have held it, I was trying to tip it away as wide as I could. It held up, I got too much on it in a way and it went straight to one of their players. That’s life, it’s part of the learning curve but I’m delighted to have played.
“When I look back at the game I had quite a busy time, having to come out of the box a few times to clear with my head and feet, and to take a few crosses. For me, it was a fantastic experience.”
Valencia swapped keepers at the break, but Kasper was delighted that his idol took the time to speak to him and give him a memento of the day.
“He waited for me in the tunnel at half time and gave me his shirt, which was nice of him. We had a quick chat afterwards, he’s a top man, a real benchmark for goalkeepers.”
