JOHNGIBSON Magpies did not deserve to suffer late killer blow
IT was cruel, so cruel. A killer finish which ripped victory from the grasp of a deserving Newcastle in the battle of the Championship heavyweights before a sell-out crowd of 52,301.
Four minutes into added time, a battered and bruised Leeds turned three Magpie points into one.
Kemar Roofe threw a last-hope ball into a wide-open, switched-off Newcastle defence and there was the Championship’s top scorer Chris Wood all on his own to equalise with his one sniff of the night.
Football is no respecter of reputations nor a kind partner and in that shattering moment United almost certainly surrendered the Championship title to Brighton while surely still on course for automatic promotion.
It was a crying shame because this was unquestionably the Mags’ best display for quite a while.
Certainly better than their last two victories at SJP.
The home breakthrough goal was scored shortly after the hour mark by skipper Jamaal Lascelles, whose form recently had been patchy - but there were many heroes in black and white on the night.
Alexsandar Mitrovic was a bullying line-leader who Leeds hated to match muscle for muscle, Isaac Hayden was superb on his return from a long injury breaking up Leeds attacks and Matt Ritchie was the mesmerising star he has been all season. Unfortunately, Hayden and Ritchie had disappeared to rest aching limbs by the time Leeds struck. United had been squeezed before they even made the kick-off with third placed Huddersfield nicking a late, late winner and table-toppers Brighton stretching their lead to five points.
It is called pressure which any big club has to overcome.
However, if we worried early on this may be Sheffield Wednesday revisited when Alfonso Pedraza rattled the bar from 20 yards and Karl Darlow had to make a splendid reflex save from Roofe’s follow up then we need not have worried too much. Newcastle regrouped and slowly but surely forced their way into the ascendancy.
Their flashpoint came as the clock ticked to 40 minutes. Y
oan Gouffran leathered the post from outside the box, Ritchie’s smack was deflected over for a cornerand Chancel Mbemba’s bullet header from Jonjo Shelvey’s flagkick had goal written all over it until Rob Green remembered how he had become England’s goalkeeper with a glorious reflex save.
Leeds defended as though their life depended on it and it probably did in terms of play-off hopes.
The pounding remained relentless second-half when the Magpies were denied a penalty which looked stonewall as Luke Ayling pulled back Chancel Mbemba on a low Ritchie cross.
Mitrovic had been selected for his muscle and was involved in the crucial breakthrough on 66 minutes when his powerful header back across goal from a Gouffran centre was met by Lascelles with Green trying to palm the header out from behind the line. Justice had been done...but sadly only temporarily.
It still seemed all over but that failure to secure a second goal became critical when Wood pounced.
Now United have to pick themselves up to go again at Ipswich on Monday.