STAYING POWER

Leeds throw away two-goal lead... before winning in dramatic shootout

- BY JOHN CROSS

THE thousands of West Ham fans who left missed an FA Cup classic.

But then they also missed the heartbreak and drama as Leeds won on penalties after doing their very best to throw it all away in an epic which lasted three hours and six minutes.

It was an incredible tie which had celebrity West Ham supporter Danny Dyer off his seat for every twist and turn, but ultimately ended with Leeds celebrating in front of their army of 9,000 travelling supporters.

What a story for Leeds boss Daniel Farke and his players as they reached the club's first semifinal in 39 years and are now at Wembley.

That barely tells half the story as Leeds were 2-0 up when the game entered into 11 minutes of injury time at 90 minutes because of all the lengthy VAR checks.

Huge sections of the stadium had emptied (Hammers fans leaving, below) and yet they were trying - and failing - to storm the turnstiles to get back in after Mateus Fernandes and then Axel Disasi scored in the 93rd and 96th minute respectively to send the match to extra-time.