Crysencio Summerville is shaping Leeds’ season — even when he’s not supposed to — The Athletic 2/4/24
By Nancy Froston
This was the night for Crysencio Summerville to show why he
has so often been the main character in the story of Leeds United’s 2023-24
season.
When the game was frustrating, when Hull City’s fouls were
frequent and Daniel Farke’s substitutions not early enough, Summerville had the
nerve. The dribble to win the penalty, the squabble with Joel Piroe over taking
it and the chest-pounding celebration said it all — he is the man.
It is a confidence that comes from scoring 18 goals this
season. It had the potential to go very wrong at 1-1 on 88 minutes and Hull
looking more capable of finding a winner. But we’re talking about Leeds United
in an unprecedented Championship season and Summerville is relishing his
centre-stage role.
The day started with a blow as promotion rivals Leicester
City came from a goal down to defeat Norwich City 3-1 at lunchtime, then
another landed just before kick-off when Ipswich Town conjured their own late
miracle to bag a 3-2 win against Southampton with seconds left. That sort of
thing has happened so often for Kieran McKenna’s team this season that the
whispers started long before Jeremy Sarmiento prodded home seven minutes into
stoppage time.
“Watch Ipswich nick this. They always do,” was the chorused
muttering in the hallways and concourses of Elland Road — and they did.
Leeds started like the team resigned to the awkward 8pm
kick-off in the slate of Bank Holiday Monday fixtures. It is a unique pressure
and for a while, it looked like this might be when Leeds faltered.
The central defensive partnership of Joe Rodon and Ethan
Ampadu was restored, but Leeds were missing Connor Roberts, Willy Gnonto and
Ilia Gruev. Among those that did start, Glen Kamara had a cold, Summerville had
injury worries, Rodon needed painkillers to play through back spasms and Sam
Byram was struggling to sprint by half-time.
Hull were a challenge from the off as they dominated
possession — a rarity for an away team at Elland Road — and caused Leeds
anxiety through a tricky front three of Jaden Philogene, Ozan Tufan and Fabio
Carvalho. Even when Leeds took a ninth-minute lead through Byram, who bundled
the ball in at the back post after Summerville had a shot parried, the visitors
looked threatening.
Their equaliser on 34 minutes, via a flicked Carvalho
finish, was evidence of why manager Farke is missing Gruev in the heart of
midfield as Leeds did little to engage the advancing Hull players in a surging
attack. Ceding possession to Hull in some areas was part of the plan but being
overrun in midfield so easily was not.
“Our problem was that in the first half, we were too poor in
possession and had to wait and shift to win the ball,” Farke said. “Ilia
dictates our rhythm and is so good on the ball under pressure, so it’s no
coincidence that we lacked a bit the quality in possession in the first half.”
Leeds had their chances, most notably Patrick Bamford skying
a shot over the crossbar from a few yards out and substitute Mateo Joseph
hitting the post, but the game appeared to be running away from them before
Summerville’s late moment of brilliance.
The 22-year-old Dutchman’s trademark jinking run from the
left wing saw him brought down under a challenge from Regan Slater to earn the
penalty, but it was what happened next that underlined his self-belief.
Striker Piroe, Farke revealed afterwards, was the designated
penalty-taker having just come on as a substitute, and it was he who initially
placed the ball on the spot.
Piroe was just starting to walk back to mark out his run-up when Summerville — Leeds’ designated taker in the starting XI — stepped forward and picked up the ball, tapping his chest to indicate he was pulling rank.
A heated conversation ensued, before captain Ampadu — aided
by Junior Firpo — persuaded Piroe to step away, although he was still
complaining as he stood on the edge of the penalty area waiting for Summerville
to shoot.
The fall-out had he missed could have been toxic but, having decided he was the man to shape the narrative, Summerville proved up to the task, rolling his kick into the net as Ryan Allsop dived the other way before ripping off his shirt and charging to the left corner flag in delight.
“I felt good in the game, we had a few chances, and I
thought this one was mine,” he told Sky Sports, the match’s UK broadcaster, by
way of explanation.
The Leeds manager was happier to focus on Summerville’s
moment of class that won the penalty.
“We have many special players who can make things happen,”
Farke said. “When you close the outside line, he attacks inside and scores a
goal like in the last game. Today they closed the inside so he used the line
and it was perfect in the situation to produce a pretty calm and cool finish.
“The celebration is always driven by emotion. As a striker,
I was old-school and I liked to celebrate with my team-mates but the younger
generation like to make a statement. It is good to let them have those moments
of individuality as long as they work hard for the team.”
The story would have belonged to Summerville alone were it
not for one final moment of spine-tingling euphoria in this nonsensical season.
After the cruel fate of missing the decisive penalty for
Wales to end their European Championship qualifying campaign in last Tuesday’s
play-off final shootout with Poland, Dan James must have felt some redemption
when his long-range goal looped into an empty net over a stranded Allsop, who
had gone upfield hunting an equaliser, to make it 3-1 in stoppage time.
These are the moments of quality, interspersed with the
moments of heart like Joseph celebrating winning a throw-in or Byram playing
through the pain for his manager, that make Leeds capable of fighting for and
winning automatic promotion over the remaining six regular-season games.
Leicester win. Ipswich win. Leeds win. Ipswich do it late.
Leeds do it late. And so it continues, until eventually somebody’s luck runs
out and they find themselves starting again in the play-offs.
