Darren Ferguson reveals Everton player ‘had a pop’ at him for leaving Ashley Young’s son on bench
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Darren Ferguson revealed that one of Everton’s players ‘had a pop’ at him for refusing to bring on Ashley Young’s son, Tyler, during Peterborough’s 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park. The history-making meeting between the father-son pair had dominated the headlines leading up to tonight’s FA Cup third-round tie.
Ferguson handed Young his first-team debut in Peterborough’s League One clash with Stevenage earlier this season and the 18-year-old was named among the visitors’ substitutes on Merseyside this evening. When Young’s old man, 39, was introduced by Everton in place of Nathan Patterson in the 73rd minute, it set up the possibility of a moment for the archives. Never before had a father and son played against each other in the competition.
But with Peterborough on the hunt for an equaliser after Beto’s 42nd-minute strike, Ferguson refused to be drawn in by the sentimentality, leaving the teenage midfielder seated as the clocked ticked down. Instead, Ferguson used up his five substitutions on Oscar Wallin, Malik Mothersille, Ryan de Havilland, Abraham Odoh and Gustav Lindgren, before Iliman Ndiaye doubled the hosts’ advantage from the penalty spot deep into added time.
Ferguson has since faced heavy criticism on social media for leaving Young as an unused substitute, with fans aghast by the manager’s apparent coldheartedness. Asked if it was difficult to leave Young on the bench at his post-match press conference, Ferguson replied: ‘Very, very difficult but I’ve got to do what I think is best for the team, as much as I wanted Tyler to get on.