Darren Ferguson has defended his decision not to play Ashley Young’s son against Everton.
Tyler Young was an unused substitute for Peterborough in their 2-0 FA Cup third round defeat at Goodison Park.
GettyThe Peterborough boss left Tyler on the bench, and denied the father and son a piece of history in the process[/caption]
Both of the Youngs were benched to begin with but Young Sr was brought on in the 73rd minutes.
Had Young Jr been brought on by Ferguson, it would have been the first time a father and son had faced each other in the competition’s history.
However, the Posh boss instead introduced Malik Mothersille as his final alteration in the 88th minute.
Following the match, Ferguson explained his decision as he admitted he had wanted to bring on the teenage midfielder.
The need for a goal with his side only trailing by one outweighed the historic significance of the moment, though.
He told reporters: “It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench, I wanted him on, but I’ve got to get a forward on to get a goal.
“One of their players had a pop at me which was out of order. I had to do what was best for my team.”
The Toffees had been leading through Beto’s first-half strike before Iliman Ndiaye added a second from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Despite Ferguson’s comments, talkSPORT co-host Jamie O’Hara was critical of the decision.
The former Tottenham man told The Sports Bar: “He could have made a bit of history, done something amazing for the club, for the boy. You know, put him on. And, you know, give a moment for a father and his son.
“There’s more to, you know, just a football match. And it just… I’ve never liked Darren Ferguson… he just annoyed me.
“He’s on the bench. Like, he could have just put him on, made a bit of history and, you know, give us something to talk about.
“He didn’t even put him on. He’s 2-0 down. If he’d still had three minutes left, I would have said, go on, get your kit on. Go and run on and have a… make history.
“And make history and have a couple of minutes playing on the football pitch with your dad. Because it’s never going to happen again.”
O’Hara added: “I’d be sitting there going, come on, mate, put him on. Like, just put him on. It’s a moment. It’s a special moment for someone.”
Everton defender Young replaced Nathan Patterson in the 73rd minute to set up a potential FA Cup first.
Tyler was left waiting for his debut in the competition, however, having only made one appearance since joining Peterborough.
He signed for the League One side from QPR in the summer on a one-year deal.
Since his arrival, the youngster has played once in the EFL Trophy along with appearances on the bench in the league, Carabao Cup and now FA Cup.