Ashley Young and his 18-year-old son Tyler were denied the chance to go head-to-head on the field as Everton beat Peterborough 2-0 in the FA Cup on Thursday.
While Ashley came on as a second-half substitute for the Premier League club, his son remained on the bench for Peterborough in the match at Goodison Park.
Ashley won the FA Cup in 2016 with Manchester United as well as league titles in England and Italy. But he said the chance to share the field with his son would be bigger than any trophy he has lifted.
“I’ve said it for (a) numerous amount of years that if there was a possibility that we was able to play with each other or play against each other, it tops everything I’ve done in my career,” he told Everton's website before the match.
When both players were named as substitutes it kept alive the prospect of a memorable showdown. But with third-division Peterborough trailing 1-0 until added time, manager Darren Ferguson opted against calling for Tyler, who has only made one senior appearance for the club.
Everton won 2-0 through goals from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye.
Midfielder Tyler spent time at Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers and MK Dons before joining third-division Peterborough last year.
He made his debut as a substitute in October.
Ashley is in the latter stages of a career that has seen him represent England at the World Cup and play for storied clubs such as United, Inter Milan and Aston Villa.
Among other instances of fathers and sons in the same game, World Cup winner Rivaldo played and scored in the same game as his son Rivaldinho in a Brazilian second-division match in 2015.
In October, LeBron and Bronny James become the first father and son to play together in the NBA.
In 1990, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr. hit back-to-back home runs in Major League Baseball.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
