BACK WITH A BANG!
Returning Bamford rescues point at death for Leeds
PATRICK BAMFORD sprinted down the touchline, ripping off his shirt and whirling it in the air before sliding on his knees to soak up the adulation of his adoring public.
If Leeds fans had longed for their striker over the last three months, how the 28-year-old must have been craving a buzz like this during those long, lonely days of rehabilitation.
Bamford has been out since September with an ankle injury and has seen his side toil in his absence. Without their 17-goal top scorer of last season, Leeds had mustered only eight goals in 11 games. But with one instinctive stretch of his knee in the 95th minute yesterday, substitute Bamford showed just what his team have been missing.
It was quite some impact and it was quite some celebration — both from the player and up in the directors’ box, where United’s ever-animated director of football Victor Orta had to be restrained by his own colleagues. In that manic moment, the fact that Bamford’s goal had only rescued a point at home against Brentford mattered little to anyone of Leeds persuasion inside Elland Road.
‘I felt as rusty as hell,’ Bamford said after calm had been restored. ‘But I always felt as soon as I came on that I was going to get one chance, although it didn’t come until right at the end. It was just an instinctive reaction as the ball came over to me.
‘If I hadn’t scored, people would have said he’s not fit yet, but the goal was nice.’
Bamford conceded his time out of the team had been frustrating, especially given his form last season, when he helped Leeds finish ninth in their first season back in the top flight.
‘It was great to get back out there playing because it’s been tough doing all the rehab,’ he added. ‘It’s weird, sometimes when you are out you become a better player and everyone dresses you up as a mighty hero. There was a little bit of pressure but I just tried to do what I normally do.’
Supporters had chanted for the introduction of Bamford — who earlier received a standing ovation warming up — after Brentford stunned Elland Road with two goals in seven second-half minutes. Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa finally answered fans’ calls with 22 minutes to go and the England forward repaid his boss in spectacular style just when the game looked lost.
‘Drawing the game the way we did changes the flavour,’ admitted Bielsa, whose mood was only dimmed by losing Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper to injury.
‘Bamford scored a goalscorer’s goal. The players who are used to scoring, normally they are in the right place at the right moment.
What you value about this goal is the opportunism of it.’
Luke Ayling, who was also returning after three months out, flicked on Raphinha’s corner and Bamford was lurking at the back post to stick out his knee and direct the ball into the roof of the net.
It was the second time in five days that Leeds had scored a crucial goal at the death at Elland Road, with Raphinha hitting a winner from the penalty spot against Crystal Palace last Tuesday.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank used the term ‘controlled chaos’ to describe Leeds’ playing style last week, but he would have been better off just using the second word.
Things had earlier looked much calmer for the hosts, who were seemingly in cruise control in search of back-to-back wins for the first time this season. After 27 minutes and with one of Leeds’ first attacks of any real intent, Raphinha swung the ball behind Brentford’s backline, with Tyler Roberts getting in between
Jansson and Ethan Pinnock to slide in and score.
It was the much-maligned Wales forward Roberts’ first goal in 22 appearances for club and country this season, his first at Elland Road in 501 days and just the second Premier League goal of his career. But buoyed by his opening strike, he was in the mood for more and forced Alvaro Fernandez to tip over with a strike from the edge of the box before flashing over from an angle.
Brentford needed a response, but with star striker Ivan Toney a late withdrawal after testing positive for Covid-19, they offered next to nothing going forward in the first half. However, completely against the run of play, they found themselves back on terms after 54 minutes. Rico Henry got the better of Stuart Dallas down the visitors’ left, passing to Sergi Canos, whose cross cannoned off Diego Llorente to the edge of the area, where Shandon Baptiste guided the loose ball into the bottom corner.
That equaliser completely turned the match and after Canos missed a header at the back post, the Spaniard made amends on 61 minutes when he started and finished a flowing team move, lifting the ball over Illan Meslier after being slipped in by Bryan Mbeumo.
The restless home crowd — who appeared to throw a bottle at Canos as he celebrated in front of them and face an FA probe over the incident — then demanded the arrival of Bamford, with Bielsa eventually responding. It was just as well he did as poacher Bamford was on hand to snatch the latest of levellers, sparking pandemonium inside Elland Road.