Daniel Farke says his side are writing a new chapter of “special history” after their penalty shootout win over Birmingham
Leeds looked to advance in normal time thanks to Lucas Nmecha’s goal early in the second half, but Patrick Roberts equalized late on to send the game into extra time and penalties. Leeds United eventually won 4-2 through a penalty shootout.
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Falke was full of praise for the team’s performance, especially captain Ethan Ampadu.
“There’s always the opportunity to write a very special chapter in history and I don’t think it’s realistic to talk about it now, but in games like this, tough away games, dirty games, you have to find a way to get to the next round.
“There was no doubt that Birmingham were better in the first half,” he said. “But we defended everything in the end and Lucas Perry made some good saves.
“We changed our formation, brought in our captain, our leader – Ethan Ampadu – and regained momentum in the game and scored with a great goal from Lucas Nmecha.”
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Leeds United have not reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup since 2003 but have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals this year if they can win their fifth round tie.
“This means a lot to us and our supporters,” Falk said. “We can get them back happy. In our recent FA Cup history we haven’t been very good so it’s good to continue to have good form – already into the fifth round.”
“Such a tough win and sometimes these wins are the best for the team mentally. There was a lot of rotation today and a lot of players on the pitch didn’t get that much minutes, but we were still able to find a way in a tough away game against a Championship team that was on fire. “To find a way to win in a dirty game was good for my team, good for my spirit and I’m happy.
“We always believed we could do it in the penalty shootout and we have done that. Lucas Perry once again performed well in the penalty shootout and earned the team a great win.”
