Sonny Perkins scored a dramatic late equaliser to keep Leeds United’s FA Cup hopes alive and seal a 2-2 draw at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Whites will meet Mark Hudson’s side at Elland Road later this month for a place in the fourth round.
Winners
Max Wober
The Austrian was denied a debut from the start, but he emerged at the start of the second half and instantly looked the part in the middle of the park. He probably wasn’t signed to play in midfield, but he looked comfortable on the ball and gave the Whites something they had been missing in the first half.
He was composed, he found his passes and he gave the midfield an aggressive edge, too, as he sat in the pocket and tried to dictate play. It wasn’t a perfect performance but it was a fine debut for the former Red Bull Salzburg man and it certainly bodes well moving forward as he hunts for his first start, which could come at Aston Villa on Friday night.
Read more: Leeds United player ratings with Struijk and Kristensen poor as late Cardiff draw dug out
Sonny Perkins
What a moment for the youngster! Perkins played 65 minutes for the Under-21s on Friday night and struggled to impress in what was a lacklustre performance but he came good when it mattered at the Cardiff City Stadium.
He had to wait for his chance, coming on in the 86 th minute, but he was the man on the end of Junior Firpo’s flick to poke the ball home for his first senior goal in Leeds colours. What a way to start the year for Perkins.
Losers
Pascal Struijk
After impressing in Leeds’ backline for a majority of the season, Struijk was rewarded with the captain’s armband in South Wales, but it did little for him. The 23-year-old was a shadow of his usual self as he moved into the middle to partner Diego Llorente at the back.
He was caught out for Cardiff’s first as Mark Harris was allowed to latch onto a throughball behind him and carve out the opening that Jaden Philogene made the most of. A few minutes later there was a huge lapse in concentration and communication as Sheyi Ojo wandered through the line unspotted to fire home Cardiff’s second.
Struijk spurned a golden opportunity in the second half, glancing a header past the post.
Diego Llorente
Like Struijk, the centre-back struggled to keep his cool in the first half and made a couple of errors. The most costly one came in the second half as he failed to track the run of Ojo, who scored Cardiff’s second first half goal and put the Bluebirds into a commanding lead.
The defender had a steadier showing in the second half, but this was a chance in the side he failed to take. Llorente struggled to give Marsch any reason to break up his established centre-back partnership of Liam Cooper and Robin Koch and it seems he might have to wait until the replay for his next opportunity.
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