Leeds United took a huge step in their season last Sunday as they won their FA Cup quarterfinal tie against West Ham. Things could have gone wrong in the dying minutes of the game at London Stadium.
Leeds were cruising at 2-0 with just 15 minutes to go, but somehow the Hammers found their way back into the game after the 90th minute. The game went into extra time, and the Whites had a slight shock when Valentin Castellanos had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside. Penalties decided the match after the extra half hour, and the heroics of Lucas Perri were enough to see Daniel Farke’s side through.
Jarrod Bowen speaks on Leeds United FA Cup defeat
The Brazilian keeper set the tone for the shootouts as he saved West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen’s spotkick. He later saved another one from Pablo Felipe, and Pascal Struijk converted his spot kick to seal the game. Ahead of the Hammers’ crucial game against Wolves this weekend, Bowen spoke to Sky Sports in an interview about West Ham’s final run of games.
When asked about missing the penalty in the defeat to Leeds United, the England man said he has watched the penalty miss since Sunday.
“It’s easy when you score and you win games, to enjoy the moment, watch the goals back. But I think you learn a lot about yourself when things don’t go your way. You still do the same thing. I still watch the game, I watch the highlights, I watch the penalty miss, hit the post twice.”
“I just think the other day it just wasn’t meant to be for me. It was one of those games, but it can happen. But like I said, for me, I never shy away from criticism when things don’t go wrong, because ultimately everyone wants the highs of football.”
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Whites will have the upper hand against the Hammers in the league
Leeds United are unbeaten against West Ham in their last two meetings; winning in the league at Elland Road, and knocking them out on penalties in the London stadium. The venue will host the reverse fixture when both sides meet again on the final day of the season. Leeds will be full of confidence knowing they have done it before, and can do it again in the league. The mental advantage cannot be ignored; it is something teams often capitalize on to get important results.
