A horic miss for Youngs in FA CUP: Father-son duo of Ashley Young and Tyler Young could have played against each other on Thursday | Football News
In what could have been a horic first in FA Cup’s 154-year-old hory, a father-son duo did not face each other in a FA Cup clash on Thursday night. With Everton FC facing Peterborough FC in a FA Cup clash at Goodison Park on Thursday, the match could have seen Everton and former England international 39-year-old Ashley Young and his 19-year-old son and Peterborough defender Tyler Young but Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson did not opt for Young junior in the match. Young Senior came on as a substitute in the match in the 73rd minute during his side’s 2-0 win and was later ‘gutted’ for the missed opportunity.
“Gutted…..”, Ahshley Young posted on his X account on Friday morning The 39-year-old, who played in 39 matches for England, was also in England’s squad for the 2018 World Cup. Everton had won only one match in their last 11 matches and were focussing on avoiding relegation. The Seamus Coleman captained side won the match with goals from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye. Young Senior, who came in the match as a substitute in the 73 rd minute, later posted on his official Instagram account about the missed opportunity.
“Even though we didn’t make hory getting on the pitch together, we made memories of a lifetime son. Your text last night ‘Happy to be on the same pitch as you’, yes this made me cry. You don’t understand how immensely proud I am of you,” the former Manchester United captain wrote on Instagram.
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson did not use Young Junior as a substitute with the manager making his final substitution in the 88th minute of the match. Ndiaye scored the second goal for Everton through a penalty in the 98 th minute to spark celebrations for the team. Ferguson defended his decision of not playing Young Junior. “It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I’ve got to do what I think is best for the team. As much as I wanted Tyler to get on, if the game had been 2-0 at that point I would’ve put him on but at 1-0, I had to get a forward on. I’ve got to try and get something out of the game and do what is best for my team. One of their [Everton] players had a pop at me, which was bang out of order. We are not a charity case,” said Ferguson after the match.
Earlier in the week, the Youngs had shared about the possibility of the horic clash between the two. “I think Tyler would say it’s old v young. It’s really special for me. I’ve been saying for years that if there was any way we could play against each other or with each other, out of my whole career, it would be the pinnacle. “The career I’ve had, the trophies that I’ve won, to hopefully get the chance to play against my son just eclipses all of that,” Ashley had told BBC Breakfast.
In the past, Brazilian footballer Rivaldo had played against his son Rivaldinho in a club clash in Brazil while Swedish footballer Henrik Larsson had played for Swedish club Hogaborgs along with his son Jordan. Young Junior too had shared his excitement when he had seen the tournament draw. “I was there in a hotel getting ready for a game and I just got a call from dad saying ‘have you seen it?’ I didn’t even know the draw was that day so I just said ‘seen what?’ He said ‘I’m playing against you in the FA Cup’. I was like ‘no, you’re not. I can’t wait to play him and try and beat him. We’re very competitive. I’m definitely faster.” Young Junior had told BBC Breakfast.
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