Leeds boss Daniel Farke said it was “perhaps not realistic” to start dreaming of Wembley glory after his side survived an FA Cup fourth-round scare by beating Birmingham 4-2 on penalties.
Sean Longstaff converted the winning spot-kick at a fired-up St Andrew’s after Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri had saved Tommy Doyle’s effort and Patrick Roberts blazed his over the crossbar.
It was especially cruel on Roberts, who had stepped off the bench to send the tie into extra time with a deserved 89th-minute equaliser after Lukas Nmecha’s second-half opener for the visitors.
Farke, whose side reached the last 16 for the third time in five seasons, said: “We know that the recent history of this club is not great in the FA Cup, but we’re on a little run already and that’s quite good.
“It’s perhaps not realistic to dream already about winning at Wembley. But I’m believer in the cup competition. I like a proper cup run and, whenever there’s a chance to go into the next (round), we want to grab it with both hands.”
Leeds rode out a first-half storm and then a late Blues fightback as Jay Stansfield’s volley was tipped on to the crossbar, while substitute Ibrahim Osman hit a post in time added on before extra time.
Farke added: “Really well done and congratulations first of all to Birmingham.
“They made this really difficult for us. Like we expected, a fantastic home performance. You could feel this team is in red hot form.
“I think eight games unbeaten in the league and of course the stadium was buzzing. Everyone was on it today.
“But this will be great for the spirit within our group and the whole unity and togetherness. Each game you win, even the scruffy games, is good for the confidence.”
Leeds wrestled back more control of the game after captain Ethan Ampadu had replaced Facundo Buonanotte at half-time and both sides continued to create chances in an end-to-end tie.
Birmingham boss Chris Davies felt his side dominated large parts of the game and could not hide his disappointment.
He said: “I’m proud of them. I think we should be, because obviously there’s a tinge of frustration there as well.
“I think we should have been deserved winners, in terms of the overall chances in the match and how we played. I thought we should have probably won that.
“I just liked how we were playing. We were playing with a real fluidity, rhythm, aggression, and it was all there. We should have been up at half-time.
“But we kept going. When you go a goal down you’ve got to try and really dig in and we threw everything at it for the last 10 minutes (of normal time).
“We went for it. And thankfully we got our rewards.”
When Osman’s low shot in added time struck a post, Kanya Fujimoto’s follow-up was brilliantly blocked by Leeds defender Jaka Bijol.
Davies added: “Had that gone in we’d have won 2-1 and I don’t think there would be any complaints from anyone.”
Leeds survive FA Cup scare to beat Birmingham on penalties
Arne Slot urges Liverpool to find consistency after victory at Sunderland
Liam Rosenior rues ‘two key moments’ that cost Chelsea victory against Leeds
Palmer’s horror miss spells end of Rosenior’s honeymoon period at Chelsea
Rangers v Hearts live: Latest score updates from crucial Scottish Premiership clash
