WHITES MISS CUTTING EDGE
Owls snatch it late on as Leeds pay for Bamford profligacy
SLOPPY Leeds blew the chance to go top of the table as “courageous” Sheffield Wednesday snatched a remarkable late victory.
Dominant for 45 minutes, the home side squandered a host of chances with unpopular striker Patrick Bamford particularly wasteful.
And having allowed Wednesday to gain a foothold, Leeds were undone when Kiko Casilla allowed Jacob Murphy’s speculative effort to squirm in at the near post, before substitute Atdhe Nuhiu wrapped things up.
Owls boss Garry Monk – who managed Leeds to seventh place in the 2016-17 season – has now taken ten points from a possible 12 in four matches against Bielsa’s Whites, but directed the praise towards his players.
“I have to give huge credit to them,” said the 40-year-old. “Two weeks ago we lost three games out of three. We picked those games apart and we didn’t play with real courage and heart. We let ourselves down and we talked about needing a response.
“Today, you saw that. Yes, they carried out the plan. But the key is to play with heart, courage and give it everything you’ve got.
“If you can walk off that pitch having done that, then every fan and manager can live with it, win or lose. It’s great to see such a strong reaction and that’s what we need to put into every game.”
Monk is justified in lauding Wednesday’s fortitude. For much of a torrid 75 minutes, it was all his men could do to repel the waves of white shirts.
Dominic Iorfa was immense alongside Julian Borner, while 18-year-old Osaze Urhoghide showed strength and composure to withstand a near constant assault from Jack Harrison.
Barry Bannan, usually lauded for his technique, demonstrated a keen eye for danger as the pivot in a 4-1-4-1 system.
Nevertheless, for all their discipline and organisation, Wednesday would have been dead and buried had Leeds taken their chances.
Harrison scuffed wide from six yards following a sublime delivery from Kalvin Phillips, who was monitored from the stands by England boss Gareth Southgate. Bamford then added to his growing gallery of ugly misses; a weak right-footed shot
from the edge of the box; a closerange hack over the bar; a free header that also sailed skywards.
Not to be outdone, Harrison also headed into the stand when it looked easier to hit the net.
It is a depressingly familiar tale for the folk of Elland Road. No side in the Championship has performed as badly against their expected goals.
With Eddie Nketiah recalled by Arsenal due to a lack of gametime and no replacement in the pipeline, fans are reasonably concerned that a lack of depth in attacking areas could prove fatal.
Just as worrying is the statistic that Leeds have conceded 43 per cent of their 23 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches. The divisional average is just 23.7.
Once again, Leeds crumbled in the last knockings. Sam Winnall had already missed a makeable volley when a poor pass from Ben White let Murphy scamper into the channel. The on-loan Newcastle United man – with two defenders for company – shouldn’t have posed any danger, but his angled shot somehow beat Casilla’s weak lunge. It was the Owls’ first shot on target of the entire match and their second – four minutes into stoppage time – proved equally decisive.
Bannan played a ball in behind the dawdling Luke Ayling, Adam Reach cut it back and Nuhiu thumped a smart finish into the top corner. “This is a situation we have seen before,” said a glum Marcelo Bielsa, whose Leeds side’s cushion to third place was reduced to just six points.
“We have on average ten chances per match. This is good. But we have to focus more on keeping out goals that we can avoid. Pay attention when we concede minutes to the opponent. Because the opponent got, in a few minutes, what we could not get in the rest of the match.”