WHITES EDGE TROTTERS IN FEISTY AFFAIR
Parky sees red amid touchline melee
PHIL Parkinson was sent to the stands as plucky Bolton took title-chasing Leeds to the wire at a nervy Elland Road.
Leading through Patrick Bamford’s early penalty, an easy afternoon on paper became a torturous slog when Mark Beevers poached a deserved equaliser.
Not for the first time this season, the hosts then blew a host of chances, before Ezgjan Alioski’s miscued cross sealed a precious three points.
It was a bitter blow for relegation-haunted Bolton and frustrations soon boiled over when a clash between Alioski and Josh Magennis sparked a touchline scrap that saw Parkinson square up to Leeds captain Pontus Jansson. When the dust settled, the Bolton boss was sent packing.
“I don’t know why,” he insisted. “It was a melee, which started when one of their players poured a drinks bottle over one of our player’s heads.
“Staff from both benches went over because nobody wants it to escalate. I did have a go at Jansson because I felt he’d instigated it by running over.
“But there were about 15 people in and amongst it, all trying to be calm. For some reason he’s decided to pick me out and give me a red card. I’ll ask him later what those reasons are.”
Parky’s belligerence matched that of his side. Annihilated by Norwich City last week, a trip to West Yorkshire was hardly the fixture shot-shy Bolton desired.
They were, however, far less passive, far more potent, and should have led when an unmarked Magennis met Callum Connolly’s swirling left-wing cross. Kiko Casilla – growing in stature with every game – reacted superbly to tip over from point-blank range.
Leeds’ opener, scored from the spot by Bamford after Pawel Olkowski had felled a charging Tyler Roberts, was a bodyblow. Elland Road – full again – crackled in anticipation of a landslide.
Yet it was the visitors who rallied. Snapping into tackles. Running in behind. And after Clayton Donaldson was denied by a smart charge from Casilla, a succession of scrambled clearances saw Beevers scoop home from close range.
Had Connolly’s snapshot not drifted fractionally wide of a post, an already deflated crowd might have become very nervous indeed. “With them not playing last week and dropping to third, there was always going to be a little bit of anxiety in the air,” added Parkinson. “I said that to the lads before the game.
“When you’ve been at the top for such a long time and suddenly you aren’t, it does create that bit of tension.”
Inevitably, though, Bolton’s adventure gradually segued into a kind of grim resistance. By halftime they had already survived a succession of scares; a Jack Harrison header that was palmed over the bar; a Pablo Hernandez ball that Bamford failed to meet.
The striker, key to Leeds in the absence of injured top-scorer Kemar Roofe, was never at his clinical best and a second-half airkick six yards out encapsulated a profligate afternoon in front of goal. “It is very important that a No.9 has opportunities,” said Marcelo Bielsa. “It shows that he made efforts and deserved to be in a position to score. Clearly, the ideal thing is to score. But the worst thing is when you don’t get chances. Bamford was somewhere in the middle.”
Having spurned and wasted a string of conventional chances, it was perhaps unsurprising that United’s clincher was a complete fluke. Alioski, superb again as a makeshift left-back, picked the ball up wide right, cut inside and unleashed a left-footed cross so wildly overhit that it turned into a fearsome shot.
Remi Matthews, leaping desperately, could only watch as the ball squirmed off his fingers, on to the crossbar and then flopped apologetically over the line.
“It’s a game very similar to many others we have played so far,” added Bielsa. “We had chances, we didn’t score them and we suffered against a team who fought a lot.”