Leeds United controversy dismissed as rival man praises Whites with 'level' admission

League One highflyers Peterborough approached Sunday’s third round clash unbeaten in their last ten games but fell to a 3-0 defeat as a stunning strike from Patrick Bamford was sandwiched by an Ethan Ampadu brace. Ampadu fired Leeds ahead in the 34th minute but in controversial fashion in netting from a Jaidon Anthony free-kick which appeared to be taken before referee Sam Allison had blown his whistle.

Speaking post-match to the Peterborough Telegraph, Posh midfielder Kyprianou admitted that the incident caused confusion but refused to dwell on the events as any form of excuse for falling 1-0 down. Instead, the 22-year-old Cyprus international issued praise for Farke’s Whites for being more clinical with their chances and saluted a “worldie” strike from Bamford who blasted home a 25-yard volley to put Leeds 2-0 up. Kyprianou also admitted that he took inspiration from watching teams such as Leeds in the aim to reach that level.

Reflecting on the Leeds opener, Kyprianou admitted: “I wasn’t sure what was happening. I was in the wall, but a lot of the lads said he blew his whistle as they went to take the kick so they were unprepared for it. It’s something we could have avoided though.

“We started off the game a bit passively as maybe we gave them too much respect, but it was quite an even game when they scored. The second goal was a ‘worldie’ which came at a bad time for us. We couldn’t do anything about and then we conceded another goal from a set-piece which we need to stop doing as they are momentum killers.

“Both teams had good spells in the game, but they were clinical in our penalty area and we weren’t in their box. I like this sort of game. I love to challenge myself against these sort of players who are the sort of level we want to to get to. I can see in detail what they do and try and implement that into my game.

"We are used to having a lot more of the ball than we had in this game, but the gaffer had prepared us for that. We kept our shape pretty well and conceded two free kicks and one brilliant goal. It was a quiet dressing room after the game. We don’t like losing no matter who we are playing against, but we will use it as motivation for the next games.”