Pascal Struijk relishes Wembley 'second chance' and backs Leeds against Chelsea | OneFootball

Pascal Struijk struck the clinching penalty at West Ham to book Leeds' return to Wembley, a moment he described as a second chance after missing the club's previous Wembley trip through injury, according to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk.

Leeds surged 2-0 ahead and the away end bounced as thousands of home supporters departed. West Ham levelled to force extra time, Lucas Perri saved two in the shootout and it finished 4-2, sparking celebrations among 9,000 travelling fans.

"It's incredible," he said. "You can see from the reaction from the fans, from the players, everyone around the club was ready for this, and I think we deserve a second chance at Wembley."

The 26-year-old arrived from Ajax on a free in 2018 and has lived the club's highs and lows. He celebrated Marcelo Bielsa's Championship title in an empty Elland Road, made his Premier League bow, then filled in at left-back under Sam Allardyce as relegation followed.

Just before speaking in the mixed zone he learned Chelsea await at Wembley on the weekend of April 25. Leeds beat them at Elland Road earlier this season and fought back for a point at Stamford Bridge, and Struijk said: "I think for us, it shows confidence that we can go into this game knowing that we've beat them already this season, and we got two good results to be fair," he said. "So yeah, we go down to Wembley with nothing to lose, all to play for."

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk