How Daniel Farke reacted to Leeds United losing to Sheffield Wednesday - he's not happy | OneFootball

Farke's side were dumped out of the EFL Cup by the Owls at Hillsborough

Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke was left bitterly frustrated by his side's EFL Cup exit at the hands of a youthful Sheffield Wednesday side at Hillsborough on Tuesday.

The two historic Yorkshire sides faced off against one another in the historic competition for the first time in midweek, yet amid a continued backdrop of uncertainty in the Steel City, Henrik Pedersen's side defied the odds and knocked out last season's Championship winners on penalties after an extraordinary evening in S6.

It also represented another underwhelming performance from the Whites in the EFL Cup under the German, having failed to progress past the second round since he took over the Elland Road reins back in the summer of 2023, although he conceded that the end result isn't as big of a shock as is being made out by many.

Daniel Farke issues frustrated Leeds United verdict as Sheffield Wednesday defy the odds at Hillsborough

Before a crowd of just 7.801 at Hillsborough for this usual grudge encounter, a vastly-experienced United side in comparision to Pedersen's XI - which included nine players aged 20 or under - dominated proceedings in terms of the possession and shot count, but were extremely wasteful or denied by the incredible performance put on by new Owls 'keeper, Ethan Horvath.

A Karl Darlow own-goal following a low Jamal Lowe cross on 62 minutes only added to the frustration shown in the away end as Leeds were booed off at half-time, with Jayden Bogle's late equaliser following an exquisite Wilfried Gnonto pass somewhat papering over the cracks.

Ultimately, some who made the short journey across Yorkshire were seen leaving the stadium in advance of Wednesday's 3-0 penalty shootout success, with Farke claiming that his side felt a sense of 'embarrassment'.

"Some people will make headlines out of this but they are still professional football players, it's not like we played against a youth team,” he said via the Sheffield Star.

“We rested a few players to the bench or not even in the squad and it's always a bit tricky when you have so many changes, especially for the team that tries to make the game. We have to take the criticism and we are self-critical because we should have have put four or five chances to bed.

“It's not just annoying, you feel a bit embarrassed as a Premier League side but we've been involved so many games like this, especially in the cup, and the lower-league team can win This was one of these days," Farke claimed.

“We were the favourites and of course we wanted to go through to the next round, so the result hurts,” he added. “I wouldn't say it was an unbelievable surprise because we are a newly-promoted side to the Premier League travelling to a Championship side, it's not like we have played the last 30 years in the Premier League. It wasn't going to be a walk in the park to have an away game at a Championship side.

“I think by all the statistics we were the better side but the only thing that matters is the goals and after 90 minutes they managed somehow to be equal on goals and they managed to be the better side in the penalty shoot-out. Congratulations to Sheffield Wednesday. They deserved to win the game.”

Sheffield Wednesday will be full of confidence heading into Swansea City, Championship clash

Amid the backdrop of continued fan protests, which led to many supporters boycotting Tuesday's game and donating ticket costs to Sheffield Children's Hospital, Wednesday have given a respectable account of themselves in the majority of their early-season showings.

The Owls got off the mark in terms of points in the Championship last Saturday with a 2-2 draw at Wrexham - a game they could have also won - and despite a mass turnover in the starting lineup due to a threadbare squad, Pedersen was left full of belief that the youngsters at Hillsborough can step up seamlessly into the first-team when called upon, which could be many times due to limitations on making transfers.

Many will argue that with such a threadbare squad, it will be impossible for them to maintain such strong performance levels throughout the season, but they will look to continue defying the odds and preserve their second-tier status.