the times | Monday December 6 2021 1GG 7
thegame
Marcelo Bielsa had made a point of
asking supporters to be patient with
Patrick Bamford on his eagerly
awaited return from injury, but the
Leeds United forward was clearly a
man keen to make up for lost time.
Bielsa’s side had scored just eight
times during Bamford’s 11-game
absence. The England international
had been on the pitch for just over 20
minutes when, deep into stoppage
time, he deftly redirected Luke
Ayling’s flick from a Raphinha centre
into the net to secure a share of the
spoils from a breathless encounter.
“It was great to get back out there
playing because it’s been tough doing
all the rehab,” Bamford said after his
first appearance since September. “It
was an instinctive reaction as the ball
came across and I’d just tried to give
us a presence in the box after coming
on.
“I felt that I’d get a chance, though
it didn’t come right until the end. I felt
rusty as hell to be honest and there
was a bit of pressure to score so it’s
nice to rescue a point.”
Bielsa felt it was the least Leeds
deserved after dominating “two
thirds” of the game. After seeing his
side profit from a stoppage-time goal
for the third time this season, he said:
“To draw the game the way we did, it
changed the flavour but we know we
should have won it. It was a
goalscorer’s goal from Bamford. He’s a
player who is used to scoring, he’s an
opportunist who is normally in the
right place at the right moment. It’s a
knack you can’t explain.”
Bielsa’s relief at the return of his
key striker was tempered by the
departure early in each half of the
captain Liam Cooper and Kalvin
Phillips, with hamstring and knee
injuries respectively. “We’re not sure
at this stage of the extent of each
injury,” he said.
Brentford made light of the absence
JASON MELLOR
Newcastle players shared this photo online after their first victory of the seasonwas also backing for Jonjo Shelvey
and a second successive appearance
for the forgotten full back, Jamal
Lewis. All three had decent games.
After a victory that was about
resilience and spirit more than
anything else came praise for Jamaal
Lascelles, who had been recalled.
Howe hugged Shelvey as he walked
around the pitch. It is a battle for
hearts and minds as the clock ticks,
with little time for any more failure.
“I’m a firm believer in psychology,”
Howe said afterwards. “It’s so
important for professional athletes
and in team sports. You have to take
to the pitch believing you can win.
Sometimes, you have to actually win
to believe it, to feel it.
“We’ve done lots of psychological
St James’ Park, where the atmosphere
was uplifting, and togetherness in the
dressing room, Newcastle’s four
points in their past two games against
Norwich City and Burnley, their
primary relegation rivals, have come
from a penalty and a dropped cross.
There is still so much for Howe to do,
and he insisted that he was not
looking beyond a meeting with
Leicester City on Sunday.
For Burnley’s Sean Dyche, there
was genuine surprise that his team
had lost. The loss of Maxwel Cornet,
injured after 32 minutes, did not help.
They hit a post through Johann Berg
Gudmundsson in the first half, when
they were in the ascendancy, before
Pope dropped the ball and Newcastle
had a lifeline that they grasped.work with the players. It’s a
combination of lots of things. But I’ve
seen a group that are really motivated
and willing to give their all for the
team. We didn’t carry anyone out of
possession; everyone, to a man, knew
the importance of defending and
putting their bodies on the line and
we got our rewards.”
When Pope came for Joe Willock’s
cross and caught it, in the 39th
minute, Burnley were in control. But
his momentum took him into James
Tarkowski and Fabian Schär, and the
ball fell from his hands and on to the
head of the Newcastle defender and
into the path of Wilson, who took a
touch and crashed in his sixth league
goal of the season.
For all the new-found spirit insideTHE MATCH IN A GRAPHIC
Statisticians Opta show who was on top throughout game
Attacking threat0 mins 15 30 45 45 60 75 90Leeds more threateningBrentford more threateningFirst halfSecond half
Goal ‘27 Goal ‘95Goal ‘54Goal ‘61Moments after heading narrowly
wide at the far post, Canós put his
side ahead in the 61st minute, beating
Illan Meslier with a confident finish
into the roof of the net after being
released by a perfectly weighted
reverse pass from Bryan Mbeumo.
Brentford were unable to hang on
for a first top-flight victory at Elland
Road since 1947 thanks to Bamford’s
dramatic late intervention. Thomasof top scorer Ivan Toney, who tested
positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, to
turn the contest on its head, when
they were trailing to Tyler Roberts’s
close-range first-half effort.
In the 54th minute, the injury-
plagued midfielder Shandon Baptiste
scored for the first time in almost two
years, finding the bottom corner from
18 yards after Sergi Canós’s cross was
deflected invitingly into his path.V-signs from
director to fan
at Elland Road
The Leeds United director of football
Victor Orta had to be restrained as he
made inflammatory gestures towards
a home supporter when tempers
flared in the Elland Road directors’
box after Patrick Bamford’s stoppage-
time equaliser.
The furious Spaniard made V-signs
and put his finger to his mouth in a
shushing action during heated scenes
after the final whistle. Orta, who was
apparently reacting to criticism from
the Leeds fan, was held back by the
chief executive Angus Kinnear.
Leeds are likely to face a Football
Association probe for a separate
incident, when Brentford’s Sergi
Canós appeared to be struck by a
missile thrown from the stands.
Canós went to ground clutching his
head as he celebrated with team-
mates in front of home fans after
putting Brentford ahead. Canós, who
was substituted soon afterwards, was
lifted to his feet and ushered away
from the scene after being met with
an angry reaction from Leeds fans.
His team-mate Bryan Mbeumo was
also rubbing his head in the wake of
the flashpoint. The FA will await the
referee David Coote’s match report
before deciding what to do. The
incident comes four days after Leeds
issued a statement condemning a
homophobic chant aimed at Crystal
Palace’s Conor Gallagher in midweek.
Brentford played down the Canós
incident. The head coach Thomas
Frank said: “I didn’t see what
happened and I’ve not spoken to
Sergi about it.”JASON MELLORFrank, their head coach, said: “It feels
very cruel to concede as late as we did
but that can happen in football. It’s
massively frustrating but the players
gave me everything.”
The Wales forward Roberts slid
home an inviting low centre from
Raphinha midway through the first
half for his first goal in more than six
months, and was denied a second
only by a fingertip save from Álvaro
Fernández.
The Brentford goalkeeper did even
better to save an Ayling header
destined for the top corner shortly
after the resumption, but he could do
little as Bamford swiftly rediscovered
his predatory skills. The result left
Leeds six points clear of danger, still a
point behind the deflated visitors.
“At the moment, my feeling is
definitely not to celebrate,” Frank
said. “What I will celebrate though is
the performance.
“We came up here without key
players, and when you have the
lowest budget, it hits harder when
you are missing those players. It was a
top performance but the outcome is
still hard to take.”Bamford back to rescue Leeds
2
Roberts 27
Bamford 90+5RATINGS
Leeds United (4-1-4-1): I Meslier — L Ayling,
D Llorente, L Cooper 5 (J Harrison 15min, 5),
J Firpo (P Bamford 69, 5) — K Phillips (M Klich 55,
6) — Raphinha, A Forshaw, S Dallas, D James —
T Roberts. Booked Roberts, Harrison, Klich,
Raphinha, Bamford.
Brentford (3-5-2): A Fernández — C Goode,
P Jansson, E Pinnock — M Roerslev, S Baptiste
(F Onyeka 69, 6), C Norgaard, V Janelt 7
(M Jensen 90, 5), R Henry — S Canós (Y Wissa
72), B Mbeumo. Booked Goode, Canós, Henry.
Referee D Coote. Attendance 35,639.Leeds Brentford
2
Baptiste 54
Canós 61CARL RECINE/ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS
Bamford, right,
celebrates his
late equaliser
for Leeds with
his fellow
scorer Roberts