BIELSA IS LOST FOR WORDS AS LEEDS BLOW IT
MARCELO BIELSA conceded his Leeds team had taken a potentially fatal blow in their promotion quest despite ‘destiny’ giving them a hand against relegation-threatened Wigan.
Given a numerical advantage by a contentious double-jeopardy decision by referee Scott Duncan to send off Cedric Kipre for an alleged handball on the goalline when awarding an early penalty, Leeds failed to capitalise over the next 75 minutes.
Pablo Hernandez missed from the spot and though Patrick Bamford did put Leeds ahead moments later, Gavin Massey’s clinical brace either side of half-time left them behind Sheffield United on goal difference in the tussle for second place.
With the Championship’s staggered easter fixtures, they could find themselves three points behind by the time they kick off at Brentford on Monday evening.
Bielsa said: ‘Today only one thing had to happen — we had to win. There is no explanation for this loss. This is a very serious wound in the worst moment. We will heal this only by getting promoted.
‘We arrived with all the credentials to get promoted and the games we have left are going to be a
lot more demanding than the ones we’ve had. Today everything went in our favour to take advantage. Destiny gave us a hand.’ No Leeds manager in a debut season can better the 25 league victories Bielsa has tallied and he appeared on course for number 26 after Luke Ayling’s mishit shot bobbled beyond the far post, from where Bamford applied a far superior connection only for Kipre to block on the goalline. Duncan ruled Kipre had kept it out via the use of his arm and produced the red card. Kipre walked off, gesticulating that he had been struck in the chest. Hernandez beat the outstanding Christian Walton’s dive but struck the base of the post. Within a couple of minutes, the all-action Ayling threaded a pass into the stride of Bamford, who arrowed a right-foot shot into the far corner. ‘The first thought in my mind was how many we could keep it down to,’ said Wigan manager Paul Cook.
At 1- 0 down, and rotherham winning at Swansea, Wigan were heading for the drop zone for the first time all season.
Their response was astonishing. Cook gambled, leaving two strikers to carry a forward threat. It almost paid dividends when Leon Clarke seized upon a poor back pass from Gaetano Berardi and rounded the advancing Kiko Casilla, only to chip wide from 30 yards.
Leeds did not heed the warning, as a minute before the interval, the unmarked Massey made good Lee evans’ pass at the far post.
Then, what felt like a hammer blow was delivered just after the hour as Clarke, the striker on loan from Sheffield United, headed down a raking cross from Nathan Byrne and Massey nodded in his second to stony silence.
Frustration in the stands boiled over and Leeds are investigating after objects were thrown into the Wigan penalty area from the south stand during the tense finale.
At the final whistle, Leeds players sunk to the turf while the Wigan bench huddled in a celebration that suggested their relegation fears are nearly over. Their efforts have opened up a five-point buffer. ‘There are no givens in the Championship, as we’ve just seen,’ said Cook.