Sharp shoots down Town
BILLY SHARP fired Leeds to victory after this game exploded into life.
The match looked to be heading for a bore draw until three goals were banged in during a frantic six minutes.
First Alex Mowatt fired in a free-kick on 71 minutes to put Leeds ahead.
But Ipswich were level three minutes later when Freddie Sears equalised after coming on as a sub two minutes earlier.
But Sharp put Leeds back in control in the 77th minute with a shot on the turn.
Town manager Mick McCarthy took a massive gamble by axing Ipswich’s 21-goal striker Daryl Murphy.
The shock decision almost paid instant dividends when his replacement Luke Varney was close to an early goal against his former club.
But it proved to be a rare threat from Ipswich and McCarthy finally sent on Murphy shortly after the hour mark.
And Murphy should have equalised from the penalty spot late on after a Sol Bamba foul.
But his effort was saved by Leeds keeper Marco Silvestri.
With only seven minutes gone, Sharp beat keeper Bartosz Bialkowski with a shot of such power that Tommy Smith knew little about his clearance from near the line.
Bamba’s strength in the air, already witnessed in the Leeds defence, also threatened at the other end when his 14th minute header looped over the bar.
But Neil Redfearn’s side went closest to a first-half breakthrough in the 35th minute of a lively clash when Christophe Berra slipped as Ipswich played the ball dangerously across their own penalty area.
Sam Byram took advantage and his cross found Sharp, who angrily claimed he was fouled as he headed over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
He struck in the 89th minute to win the game, after Newcastle matched the Reds for long periods.
Young fired home from the edge of the box after Wayne Rooney had run at the Toon defence and keeper Tim Krul steered the ball straight into his path.
It was a lucky escape for United on a night when they spluttered but never got anyway near top gear.
Chief culprit was Angel Di Maria, hauled off on another frustrating night for the Red’s £59.7m signing.
The Argentine had his moments but once again struggled, losing possession far too easily as United struggled to break down Newcastle.
And Van Gaal decided he’d had enough on the hour when Di Maria wastefully sent a cross-shot high and wide with team-mates queuing up – with Adnan Januzaj sent on.
Toon keeper Krul produced an astonishing 54th minute double save to keep United at bay.
Marouane Fellaini looked certain to score when he got in behind the Toon defence only for Krul to acrobatically keep out his volley. The keeper then scrambled across his line to prevent Young lashing home the loose ball.
The biggest cheer of the night came on 64 minutes when the crowd rose to acclaim cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez, who came off the bench to replace Ryan Taylor and was handed the skipper’s armband by Fabricio Coloccini.
Moments after his introduction, United had a real let-off when fellow sub Ayoze Perez fed Papiss Cisse. But with just keeper David De Gea to beat he shanked his effort horribly wide.
Another misfiring forward was Rooney, who has scored 12 goals against Newcastle in his career.
Twice he had the chance to add to that impressive haul in the opening half an hour but couldn’t take either of them.
In the 26th minute the United skipper could only dink the ball harmlessly wide with just Krul to beat.
And then four minutes later, he lost his footing after being played in by Di Maria, who took advantage of a slip by compatriot Coloccini.
United had to wait until the 44th NEWCASTLE (4-4-2): Krul; Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, R Taylor; Obertan, Abeid, Sissoko, Ameobi; Riviere, Cisse. Subs: Anita, Gouffran, Gutierrez, Armstrong, Satka, Woodman. MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Valencia, Evans, Smalling, Rojo; Blind, Herrera; Di Maria, Fellaini, Young; Rooney. Subs: Jones, Mata, Falcao, Januzaj, Lindegaard, Carrick, McNair. Referee: Anthony Taylor.