Fans clash at Leeds
THE Football Association are likely to investigate crowd disturbances at the end of the match between Leeds United and Birmingham City.
Objects were thrown between the two sets of fans at Elland Road after the final whistle while videos showed punches being thrown at stewards by visiting fans.
Arrests were made and at least one steward was injured in the trouble.
Ugly scenes continued outside the ground where there was a tense stand-off as police horseswere used to keep rival fans apart.
Leeds will launch their own internal investigation with all stewards asked to make a written report of what they had witnessed.
MARCELO BIELSA put it down to divine intervention as Leeds- born Kalvin Phillips took matters into his own hands to cap the club’s 100th birthday party in grand style.
With 65 minutes played of what was threatening to be another frustrating day for the hosts at Elland Road, Phillips broke forward from his deepmidfield role.
Not known for his scoring ability, the 23- year- ol d drove a s hot under Birmingham keeper Lee Camp to settle proceedings and ensure a return to the top two in the Championship.
The fact that it was a player who has come through the ranks and used to sit in the Kop was not lost on Bielsa.
‘Sometimes God puts things in the right place,’ said the Leeds boss. ‘The fact that Phillips continues to play here and then scores this goal, he will stay in the history of the club for this moment. It was a sweet act of justice.’
It felt like justice because Leeds had been on the front foot virtually from the first minute and they would have been cursing if they had let points slip, especially on this special day.
The players were wearing a kit designed especially for the occasion, which included tracksuit tops with their names on the back — a nod to t hose synonymous with t he Don Revie era. Some of those greats — Eddie Gray, Norman Hunter and Peter Lorimer — were among the former players presented to the crowd before kick-off.
Howard Wilkinson and Gordon Strachan, manager and captain from the league title-winning squad from 1992, were in attendance along with David O’Leary and former players who reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2001.
All were warmly received by an Elland Road crowd eager to wallow in nostalgia.
It was just a shame the afternoon was later marred by crowd trouble as opposing fans threw objects and clashed with stewards.
On the pitch, goals have been a problem for Leeds at home — just four in five games before this match — and they struggled for a breakthrough again despite producing one of their best 45 minutes of the season, according to Bielsa. Ezgjan Alioski’s early drive was beaten away by Camp, while striker Patrick Bamford shot across the face of goal.
Despite having four goals to his name this season, there remains the nagging doubt that Bamford is not prolific enough to take Leeds where they want to go.
Another excellent move then came to nothing as Stuart Dallas was denied by a smart save from Camp.
On- loan Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah was sent on for Bamford at the interval but Birmingham, the only team to do the double over Leeds last season, continued to defend deep and hope for a sucker punch.
It almost arrived when Fran Villalba took aim from 20 yards and whistled a strike just beyond Leeds keeper Kiko Casilla’s upright.
But the breakthrough arrived when the visitors were sloppy in possession as Jack Harrison robbed Maxime Colin and made it into the area where Phillips arrived to clinch the points.
They really should have put the game to bed but Alioski wasted two great chances.
Nerves among home fans jangled all the way to the end as Birmingham tried in vain for an unlikely equaliser.
‘When you come to Leeds you have to be very good and we were very good,’ said Blues boss Pep Clotet.
‘We made just one mistake and it’s unfair to be punished in that way.’