‘Honoured’ – Leeds United cup hero reveals ‘special feeling’ after Whites first and father-son connection
During Leeds United’s 3-0 FA Cup Third Round victory over Peterborough United, captain-for-the-day Ethan Ampadu expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity to wear the armband for the Elland Road team.
Ampadu’s brace, both from set pieces, and Patrick Bamford’s contender for goal of the season helped Leeds advance to the competition’s Fourth Round, defeating Posh on home ground.
Daniel Farke chose Ampadu his captain as Leeds faced their League One opponents due to Pascal Struijk’s extended absence due to an adductor injury and the fact that Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling were considered incapable of playing 90 minutes.
Before Sunday afternoon’s cup match, Ampadu had only scored once in his professional football career, a late goal in loan club Spezia’s Serie A play-off loss back in June. However, in just 90 minutes, he added a second and a third to his career total.
Ampadu expressed his happiness to see his name on the scoresheet and his pleasure in leading Leeds as captain for the day.
It is a privilege to have been assigned the role of team leader for today. I’ve never led a team from the beginning, so it was a unique experience. However, putting that aside, the main goals of the day were to advance to the next round and perform well as a team.”
The 23-year-old also expressed to reporters his optimism that the Whites’ triumph at London Road will improve their performance away from home this season, something he feels has been lacking in recent weeks after losses to West Bromwich Albion, Preston North End, and Sunderland in December.
“We’ve been letting ourselves down a little bit, but we’re not foolish; we see a lot and know ourselves away from home. Hopefully this merely provides a small amount of assurance that we can achieve good outcomes while we are not at home.”
Ampadu’s double in Peterborough was a reflection of his father Kwame’s playing career heroics. In October 1995, Ampadu Snr scored for Swansea City at London Road, but it was only one goal.
Leeds’ next game is away to Cardiff City, a venue that Ampadu, Dan James, and Joe Rodon, two other Welsh international teammates, are quite familiar with.
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One of the key players in Leeds United’s 3-0 FA Cup victory over Peterborough United on Sunday afternoon was Ethan Ampadu.
Since Illan Meslier was sent off at Deepdale, Ethan Ampadu has been the only player to start every Leeds United league game this year. This season, the Wales international has shown that Daniel Farke cannot function without him; the manager needs him to be on the pitch at all times.
The 23-year-old has not even experienced any relief from cup matches. The pattern was established by the EFL Cup matches in August. On Sunday, Ampadu started at London Road against League One opponents despite playing almost the whole four games in a nine-day span.
The Peterborough United
Farke would just force him back into central defence, though. The management might argue that Ampadu’s position was not as demanding as it could have been, but you couldn’t help but feel that he was fully committed to the cause.
Ampadu joined the team less than six months ago, yet he already started United’s 29th straight game and received the armband of the team. It says a lot that someone so young and inexperienced at Elland Road can hold such a senior position in the team, ahead of Patrick Bamford and Junior Firpo.
Since taking office, Ampadu has set a clear but modest example. Whether or not there are more experienced players present, something as simple as being the first player off the team coach to every game tends to inspire a sense of purpose or leadership as the first man into the breach.
Ampadu has demonstrated organisational abilities that go beyond his playing experience. It is easy to understand why Farke enjoys having him play and set an example for the other players. From day one, the armband has been inevitable.
Not even a mention of the two goals has been made thus far. Ampadu would grab the armband, play for every minute, and then score the goal—far from being rested.
nly had one in any competition across his entire career. Trebling his career goal tally in one afternoon was not a bad outcome for this cornerstone of the Farke project
