The former Tigers ace is dreaming of FA Cup glory this season
Keane Lewis-Potter made his Hull City debut against Millwall in the FA Cup back in January 2019(Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)
As Keane Lewis-Potter prepares to play his part in trying to get Brentford into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Monday night against West Ham, the former Hull City ace has been reminiscing about the time he went to Wembley as a youngster.
Lewis-Potter was just 13 when he, along with hordes of other Tigers, made the long journey to the capital to see Steve Bruce’s heroes battle it out in the final against Arsenal in 2014.
As City fans painfully know, the Tigers were in dreamland early on when they roared into a 2-0 lead against Arsene Wenger’s Gunners after just nine minutes, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion after extra time.
Those memories remain strong for Lewis-Potter, who came through City’s academy before joining the Bees in a £20m deal back in the summer of 2022.
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“We played an Arsenal team who have gone on to win it so many times,” Lewis-Potter told the FA. “It was crazy, to be honest. Seeing your club reach the FA Cup Final is absolutely out of this world. I don’t know how to describe it.
“It was something special. I’ve been fortunate to be at Wembley a few times to watch Hull. I’ve never played there myself. The day itself, seeing the fans and everyone from Hull travel to London to watch the team, it’s magical.
“Even being at the game against Sheffield United [in the semi-final] when they won 5-3 was an absolutely crazy game but sitting there as a fan and in my head thinking, ‘one day, I could be part of a team like that or actually play for the club’.”
It took Lewis-Potter, now 25, five years to go from watching City as a fan under the famous arch to making his senior debut in the Tigers’ first team in the FA Cup at the ripe old age of 17 away at Millwall, as he recalls.
“We played Millwall away, and I was only 17 at the time. My first game in professional football was an unbelievable experience,” he explained.
“I got the chance to travel with the first team. I think I had to do my initiation song the night before. I sang an Ed Sheeran song – it was probably ‘The A Team’. I got my debut the next day. It was a proud moment for me and my family, and something that will stay with me forever.
“I would’ve maybe used the word scary at the time. Obviously, I’d never played professional football at this stage. I remember being very young and naïve about football and about the situation.
“When the gaffer (Grant McCann) at the time told me I was coming on, there was so much going on in my head. I can’t really remember too much about the moment because I was that excited and just wanted to make an impact.”
The Tigers’ favourite has already scored in this season’s competition, having netted against City’s beleaguered Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the third round, before helping his side overcome Macclesfield in round four, as attention turns to Monday night’s trip to the Olympic Stadium.
“I think it’s fair to say, everyone wanted Macclesfield to win. We’ve been in that situation and we are sometimes in that situation when we play the big teams,” he continued.
“We knew how that felt, so we knew how they would feel, and I think that really takes the pressure off you as a player. Thankfully, we got the win.”
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