Darren Ferguson took a page out of the playbook of Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson after he made a “very difficult” call in Peterborough’s defeat.
Peterborough travelled to Goodison Park for the third-round FA Cup tie on Thursday and Darren Ferguson’s men suffered a 2-0 defeat to Everton.
Former Manchester United captain Ashley Young came off the bench in the second half when Everton were 1-0 up against the League One side.
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson included Tyler Young in his squad for the FA Cup tie and the 18-year-old midfielder was on the bench.
Tyler Young, who is the son of Ashley Young, was unable to have a reunion on the pitch with his dad before the full-time whistle was blown.
Peterborough were chasing the match after Beto broke the deadlock for Everton before half-time and Ferguson left Tyler as an unused substitute in the match.
Everton ensured their win at Goodison Park deep into injury time after Iliman Ndiaye converted from the spot-kick and Peterborough were dumped out of the FA Cup.
Ferguson speaks out on his Young decision
Ashley Young warmly embraced his son on the pitch after the full-time whistle was blown, despite Tyler Young not managing to make a second-half cameo.
According to BBC Sport, the FA Cup has never seen a father and son play against one another in the competition’s incredible 154-year run.
Darren Ferguson’s decision not to play Peterborough midfielder Tyler in the FA Cup match sparked fierce backlash from some fans on social media.
The Peterborough boss showed shades of father Sir Alex Ferguson by insisting that his side were chasing the match and he couldn’t risk bringing Tyler on at that time.
“It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I’ve got to do what I think is best for the team,” Ferguson said.
“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.”
Young’s reaction to not playing against his son
Young took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and expressed his disappointment of not playing against Tyler in what would have been a historic FA Cup moment.
The Everton player simply wrote: “GUTTED……”
Speaking ahead of Everton’s win over Peterborough, ex-Manchester United star Young felt that playing against his son would have been the “pinnacle” of his career.
“I think Tyler would say it’s old vs young,” he told BBC Breakfast, as per BBC Sport.
“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.”
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