The Leeds United striker bounced back from a miss at Crystal Palace to bury two FA Cup spot-kicks on Sunday.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was rewarded for ‘drilling’ penalty training with two successful spot-kicks in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final win at West Ham.
Calvert-Lewin skewed a crucial first-half penalty wide at Crystal Palace last month, wasting the chance to put Leeds ahead in a Premier League game then eventually drew 0-0. Gabriel Gudmundsson was sent off minutes after that miss in a period that virtually ended any chance of taking three points from Selhurst Park.
Having returned from England duty with a slight hamstring issue, Calvert-Lewin started Sunday’s FA Cup tie at West Ham on the bench and was introduced on 70 minutes. Max Kilman’s foul on Brenden Aaronson handed the striker a chance to score from 12 yards and he buried it confidently to put Leeds 2-0 up.
A chaotic end to normal time saw West Ham score twice late on and the tie eventually went to penalties, with pressure on Leeds’ second taker Calvert-Lewin after Joel Piroe’s opening effort was saved by 20-year-old debutant Finlay Herrick. But another assured effort sent the Whites on their way to a 4-2 shootout victory.
“It's no secret that I missed my last one against [Crystal] Palace away, so it was a big moment for me to make sure I put it away properly,” Calvert-Lewin told TNT Sports. “And I've been practicing in training just drilling it.
“When you miss one you want to go through your processes again and I have a process and I knew where I was going this time and put it away. I had a good feeling, particularly before I came on, that there was going to be chances to make an impact.
“When you're on the pitch and they've got the ball and I'm up front in position, all I'm thinking about is I hope they don't score. I wasn't really thinking about the neutral. I was focused on scoring and stopping them from scoring."
Dominic Calvert-Lewin reacts to Chelsea FA Cup draw
Aaronson, Willy Gnonto and Pascal Struijk joined Calvert--Lewin in scoring, with Lucas Perri’s save of Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Felipe efforts proving decisive. Victory sent Leeds into an FA Cup semi-final for the first time in 39 years.
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Daniel Farke will lead his players out at Wembley in three week’s time, with Chelsea confirmed as their opponents following Sunday evening’s draw. Leeds have taken four points from the London side in Premier League football this season but the FA Cup and excitement of a Wembley trip will be sure to throw up some drama.
"It's always going to be a difficult match against Chelsea,” Calvert-Lewin added. “They're a good side, but it's the FA Cup, we're going to Wembley. Excited.
“I've never had the opportunity to play at Wembley for club before, so for me it was a big chance today. When it went to 2-2, I thought maybe it's not meant to be, but thankfully, we stuck in there and got the win."
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