Lessons learned from a chaotic Easter Sunday as Leeds United beat West Ham on penalties to secure an FA Cup semi-final spot.
Leeds United were on the right end of an all-time FA Cup quarter-final classic on Sunday after beating West Ham United 4-2 on penalties, following a 2-2 draw. Daniel Farke’s side were two goals up through Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin going into 11 minutes of added-time in normal time but two late strikes kickstarted the chaos.
Matheus Fernandes and Axel Disasi were on target for the Hammers, with Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe both seeing extra-time goals ruled out for offside. Leeds also had chances in the 30 added on but it ended level, with Joel Piroe and Jarrod Bowen each missing opening spot-kicks.
But Leeds were perfect after that with Calvert-Lewin, Brenden Aaronson, Willy Gnonto and Pascal Struijk on target while Pablo missed for West Ham. Below, the YEP attempts to take lessons from arguably one of the FA Cup’s greatest ever games.
Leeds United fringe stars impress
While Farke went close to full-strength with his line-up at West Ham, minutes were handed to those on the fringes and they certainly made their mark. Tanaka’s well-worked goal capped off an excellent first-half in possession from the Japan international while penalty-hero Perri was pulling off incredible saves long before the 120 minutes were up.
The Brazilian lost his bearings for Castellanos’ disallowed goal but gathered himself to make two strong shootout saves. Gnonto, meanwhile, came off the bench and made a positive impact, running at West Ham defenders and working space, His penalty in the shootout was also excellent.
Leeds needed their full squad to get the better of West Ham and will need them many times again between now and May. Previous opportunities haven’t necessarily been taken but it’s an encouraging sign that the likes of Perri, Tanaka and Gnonto can contribute when called upon.
Late goal issues again
As the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, Leeds were two goals up and looked comfortable. The 9,000-strong away end thought so too, as they sang about imminent trips to Wembley, but when the board went up and inexplicably showed 11 minutes of added-time, the mood changed.
Leeds will certainly question the decision to add on so much time but in reality, West Ham shouldn’t have been given a look in. They only needed seven of the 11 to score twice, sending a game that should have been long gone into extra-time and the chaos that followed.
Leeds have now conceded 11 goals after the 90-minute mark this season - including twice letting in two against West Ham and Newcastle - which is more than any other Premier League team across all competitions. Farke simply has to fix the issue now as with each late goal, it only compounds the nerves.
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Victory... but at what cost?
The Leeds squad and staff will rightly celebrate tonight but at what cost has an FA Cup semi-final place come? Farke’s worst fears were realised lost two of his most consistent and important players to injury at the London Stadium, with Anton Stach and Joe Rodon both forced off after ankle knocks.
Stach was on the receiving end of a heavy Max Kilman challenge that could easily have been a penalty, while Rodon was caught awkwardly between players as a corner came. Both tried to play on but were quickly substituted, with the former spotted with crutches and a protective boot. That is a huge concern for Farke.
“Joe Rodon rolled his ankle, we have to assess him,” the Leeds boss said. “Thank God there's a bit of time before the next game. Anton should have been rewarded with a penalty, hit against his ankle, probably a ligament injury. We have to assess how bad it is. I hope it's not too bad, he was running the game, it was a major set-back to lose him. He's a key player for us and I hope it's not too bad."
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