Here are the latest Leeds United evening headlines on Monday, May 16.
Bamford's special praise for Gelhardt
As he has been on several occasions this season, Joe Gelhardt was ultimately the difference-maker for Leeds against Brighton on Sunday. It was his ludicrous piece of skill and perfect cross that provided Pascal Struijk with the opportunity to head in the late equaliser.
The 20-year-old has proved his worth when called upon this term and is a player Whites fans have been desperate to see more of. They don’t feel as though he has been used as much as he could’ve been in the absence of Patrick Bamford in the frontline.
Read more: Leeds United set unwanted all-time low Elland Road mark following dramatic Brighton draw
However, Leeds’ injured number nine is clearly a big fan of his younger understudy. In response to Gelhardt’s Instagram upload following the Brighton draw, Bamford commented “Assist of season” paired with a few emojis depicting fire.
Charlie Cresswell, Sam Greenwood, Jamie Shackleton and Lewis Bate were among the other Leeds players to comment on his post.
Jermaine Jenas agrees with Bamford
Bamford was far from the only one to shower the youngster with praise for the outrageous skill that brought the goal. Speaking on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday evening, Jermaine Jenas gave his opinion on the assist.
“This bit of skill here, is one of the best bits of skill you're going to see all year from a lad who stuck at it all game and provided the assist for what is potentially going to be a goal that could keep them in the league,” he said. “That bit of skill from Gelhardt is incredible. To deliver that, in a moment that was needed, for Struijk to get the goal, the place went wild."
Read more of what he had to say about the Leeds performance here.
Ex-Prem ref agrees with Mike Dean’s handball decision
After Struijk leveled the score two minutes into stoppage time, Leeds felt they should have had a penalty when another of Gelhardt’s crosses struck Joel Veltman on the arm. However, with the Brighton defender’s arm close to his body, Mike Dean quickly waved away the protests from the players, staff and the fans.
Speaking on the weekly edition of ‘Ref Watch’ on Sky Sports News, Dermot Gallagher believed the decision was the correct one. He said: “It strikes him [Veltman], no doubt about that.
“It strikes his arm as the cross comes in but you see that his arm is by his body. His arm is actually out then he brings it back in so his arm is very, very close to him when it hits him.”
