Leeds United booked their place in the semi-final of the FA Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout win against West Ham at the London Stadium.
Leeds looked as though they were thoroughly in control of the cup tie as the clock struck 90 minutes, with the Whites two goals up as the fourth official added on 11 minutes of stoppage time.
However, two quickfire goals from Mateus Fernandes and Axel Disasi turned the game on its head as the hosts had all the momentum heading into extra-time.
Daniel Farke’s side managed to rally despite the crushing setback they faced, keeping the score level and ensuring the game went to penalties, where the Whites held their nerve to book their place in the semi-final.
Jarrod Bowen reacts to chaotic FA Cup clash
Lucas Perri made himself the hero in the shootout again, similarly to how he did against Birmingham, with the Brazilian making two crucial saves to give Leeds the advantage.
One of the penalties he saved was that of West Ham’s captain and talisman, Bowen, who had his say on the thrilling affair at full-time.
“Gutted, feel like I’ve let people down,” Bowen said on West Ham’s official YouTube channel when addressing his penalty miss.
“It hurts because I thought we’d done so much to get back into the game, and I knew how special it would be to go to Wembley, but it wasn’t meant to be.
When reflecting on the 30 minutes of extra time, Bowen felt as though West Ham were the team who were in the ascendancy and looked more likely to nick it.
“We went on in the game, hit the post again, have two goals disallowed, and you feel like you’re in the driving seat and you feel like this is written for us, to be 2-0 down and to come back and go on and win the game, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
James Justin and Leeds managed to get the better of Jarrod Bowen in one key area
Whilst keeping a player of Bowen’s quality quiet for an entire game is virtually impossible, Justin did a good job of limiting his involvement.
However, in the few touches Bowen did have, he was able to hit the woodwork with two long-range efforts from outside the area.
- Justin and the rest of the Leeds defence also struggled to prevent Bowen from creating chances, with the winger managing to create one big chance during the game
- In the duels, however, is where Bowen struggled during the game, winning just one of the six duels he was involved in
- Justin, on the other hand, was solid in his individual duels, winning six of the eleven he contested (Sofascore)
Hopefully for Leeds, this win gives them some much-needed momentum heading into the run-in, with the Premier League relegation battle heating up.
Prior to the game against West Ham, Leeds’ last win against Premier League opposition came all the way back in February, and hopefully, Farke’s side will be full of confidence moving forward to secure another couple of wins to guarantee their top-flight status.
