Leeds qualified for the fourth round of the FA Cup after dominating almost completely against Cardiff, helping them win a strong 5-2 in the third round replay at Elland Road.
Wilfried Gnonto got the hosts off to the perfect start with a delicate scissor kick after just 26 seconds and the score 3-0 after 36 minutes had passed, thanks to a second of the Italian teen and a second goal. Rodrigo’s 12 of the season.
Cardiff’s Curtis Nelson thought he found a slim chance of getting back into the game before the break, but his header was ruled out after a VAR review.
Leeds will play Accrington or Boreham Wood in the fourth round of the FA Cup
Patrick Bamford then came on from the bench at half-time to score twice in five minutes, bringing his tally to three in two games after his first game of the season in a loss to Aston Villa on Wednesday. Six.
Callum Robinson restored the consolation for the visitors and then successfully scored a late penalty with the last kick of the game to shorten the lead, even though it was all too little, too late.
Victory for Leeds – their first since November 5 – sets up a fourth-round clash with Boreham Wood or Accrington, the two teams will face each other in a replay on Tuesday, May 24. first.
How Marsch’s men cavalierly entered the fourth round
Leeds had to resort to 18-year-old Sonny Perkins’ 93rd-minute equalizer to force a replay in South Wales 10 days earlier, so in its first FA Cup match at Elland Road since January 2016, no No doubt, they will be desperate to set the straight record.
Gnonto put Leeds ahead after 26 seconds with a delicate scissor kick
During game preparations, head coach Jesse Marsch hinted that a win over the Bluebirds was likely to start his team’s season and with less than 30 seconds on the clock, they succeeded. brilliant.
Rodrigo passes a beautiful ball to the far side of the post, where Gnonto is a yard or two past Tom Sang and delivers a delicate scissor kick, almost a replica of Paulo Di’s iconic volley. Canio against Wimbledon in the Premier League 23 years ago.
Rodrigo doubles the lead for the home team with his 12th goal of the season
Gnonto and Sam Greenwood made it difficult for Cardiff full-backs Sang and Joel Bagan on the flanks, but Cardiff’s defense mostly held steady for the next half-hour until Rodrigo caught the ball piercing the defence. at Jack Harrison’s throne, pulling Jak Alnwick from his grasp. and was fired in 12th place of the season.
Within two minutes of the second, the score was 3-0. Harrison was the architect once again, leading a decisive break, before passing the ball to Gnonto, who instinctively shot from the near corner.
Leeds club record signing Georginio Rutter was paraded to fans at Elland Road
When Leeds failed to clear the ball after a corner, Nelson’s header was helped by Illan Meslier to send the ball over the bar, but all hope was quickly extinguished when referee Thomas Bramall was cleared by VAR Mike Dean advises going to the sideline supervisor. where he ruled that Andy Rinomhota was offside and within sight of the keeper on contact with the ball.
Patrick Bamford scored two late goals, bringing his total to three in two games
Leeds continued to dominate and look for more goals after the break, but it was not until the 71st minute that they scored again when Bamford rushed into the box and fired a beautiful shot past Alnwick.
And he added his second five minutes later, ending coldly after playing a good one or two with Joe Gelhardt.
Callum Robinson scores two late goals for Cardiff
Cardiff acted late, as Callum Robinson headed in after being suspected of being the home side’s defender and then converted a penalty awarded after another VAR review, but the goals failed to do it. nothing much but removing some of the shadow of another crunch victory for Leeds.
Man of the Match – Wilfried Gnonto
Marsch: You can see Gnonto’s beliefs; I’m not surprised by his performance
Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch said on ITV:
“Willy has been playing at a high level for a few weeks now, so I’m not surprised. It was a great start with his first goal.
“I think he’s grown very quickly. You can see his belief in himself. He’s a really grounded person and I think part of his success is that he loves his job. He’s always trying to do more, do better, absorb the information we give him and then try to put it into practice. That was another really good performance by him. that.
“It’s funny because Luis [Sinisterra] injured and it gave Cry Summerville a chance to move on; The crying had subsided and it was Willy’s chance to move on. You can see the confidence is growing, even coming out of the game against Villa I know we will be confident. It’s good to see tonight.
“Now to have Patrick [Bamford] fit and gaining momentum, looking sharp and scoring, that’s a very positive sign for us. We feel that, even with the addition of Georginio Rutter, we already have some weapons.”
Whitehead: I’ll stay on as a temporary manager until I get further notice
Cardiff interim manager Dean Whitehead:
“It was the worst possible start. We made a mistake in the lead, but it was a quality ball and a quality goal by a top player. I think, especially the In the first half, Leeds played well, but we made it sometimes very, very easy for them.When we press, we don’t press together, we leave big spaces and good players. take advantage of that.
“We solved the problem in the first half, changed the formation and started the second half much better. Again, made some mistakes, but we finished with two goals, which would have been very good. us on Saturday.This group of players did not give up in any game.
“It’s difficult, but everyone wants to win games and we have to do it fast.
“I will do that [the interim manager role] until I am told otherwise. We have a lot of players and the staff here are working very hard. Yes, we are lacking in some areas – of course we are – but we will work our hardest to get points on the board and move up the board. We’ll go into Saturday and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Full FA Cup 4th round draw
- Preston vs Tottenham
- Southampton vs Blackpool
- Wrexham vs Sheffield United
- Ipswich vs Burnley
- Manchester United vs Reading
- Luton vs Grimsby
- Derby vs West Ham
- Stoke vs Stevenage
- Blackburn vs Birmingham
- Walsall vs Leicester
- Sheffield Wednesday vs Fleetwood
- Man City vs Arsenal
- Bristol City vs West Brom
- Brighton vs Liverpool
- Fulham vs Sunderland
- Boreham Wood or Accrington vs Leeds
What’s next?
Leeds’ next game is at 2pm on Sunday 22 January, when they welcome Brentford to Elland Road, in a live match on Sports sky.
Meanwhile, Cardiff return to action at 3pm on Saturday, January 21, when they host Millwall at the Cardiff City Stadium.
