PAUL JONES spoke up for the goalkeepers' union after he blamed himself for Azerbaijan's equaliser on Saturday night in Baku.

The Wales keeper was unable to keep out Rashad Sadikhov's swerving 35-yard free-kick - and then heard about David James' blunder which enabled the Austrians to grab a point against England in Vienna.

"It happens to every one of us, said Jones.

"When you are in the firing line like goalkeepers are, these things happen."

Robert Page should not have conceded a weak free-kick and Wales' defensive wall was a shambles. But Jones still believed, after getting his hands to the ball, that he could have stopped the equaliser.

"The free-kick swerved a lot, but it was disappointing to see it go in," said Jones.

"I should keep things like that out, no goalkeeper likes getting beaten from distance.

"Up until then, Azerbaijan had not created an on-target shot and we had got ourselves in front.

"I am afraid that these days when a goalkeeper makes a mistake it means a goal and we have to accept that. There is nothing easy about the job.

"I will just continue to cope with that sort of pressure.

"We put a wall up and he shouldn't have been able to get it around it, but he did and struck lucky. That is the way it goes.

"It had pace and swerved a lot, but the disappointing thing is that I got hands on it and at this level I know that it should have been stopped.

"It was the swerve, there was so much movement on the ball. It sent me one way and then back the other and I just could not keep it out.

"I will weigh it up after having a look at the video, but I know that I probably should have done better.

"We are talking about inches, but unfortunately that is my game and that is what makes the difference at this level."

Jones, who was winning his 40th cap in Baku, is convinced Wales can retrieve the situation against Northern Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday.

He said, "We have the strength to come back from this, considering how far we have come as a team together. We want to bounce back and put things right.

"We should have won games like this, but we haven't and we will have to pull together to have another crack on Wednesday against the Irish.

"This side is different these days. I have been in games away from home that we would have lost after something like that happening.

"You could have seen us crumble after that, but we don't do that any more and we managed a crucial point in an away World Cup qualifier. If we can beat Northern Ireland, everybody will be happy with four points from these two opening games.

"But we realise that the Irish have lost 3-0 to Poland and I am sure that Lawrie Sanchez will have them right up for the game against us because they will want to make amends as well."