Sixteen Seconds — Square Ball 27/2/25
Roman Empire
Written by: Chris McMenamy
Pablo Hernandez is my Roman Empire. There is no goal that I
think about quite as often as his sixteen second screamer against West Brom on
1 March 2019. West Brom kicked off and floated a ball forward, which Liam
Cooper met with an intent that set the tone for what was to follow. Jack
Harrison set off running with the ball like a hamster on a wheel, Leeds’ all
white kit giving him that extra speedy look. As the West Brom defence retreated
hastily, Pablo Hernandez appeared on the right with his arms aloft, demanding
the ball, and Harrison obliged. One touch, two touch, then bang, right into the
top corner.
"Hernandez.... MAGNIFICENT!"
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) October 1, 2019
It was a fast start the last time @LUFC and @WBA clashed at Elland Road... #EFL | #SkyBetChampionship | #LUFC | #WBA pic.twitter.com/TbhltfjVfu
At least that’s what the video tells me. My first person
view from the south-east corner of Elland Road was entirely different. There
were still people shuffling past as Cooper’s header rolled to Harrison, the
stragglers who couldn’t finish their pint in time obscuring my view. When Pablo
struck that ball so sweetly, one solitary fan crossed the path of my friends
and inadvertently ended up playing his part in our goal celebrations. The poor
fella ended up arse over head as the Cheese Wedge erupted, which was (only
partly) our fault.
As the sixth anniversary of that night coincides with Leeds
playing West Brom at home, who might be best placed to imitate Pablo? At this
point, does anyone need to?
Leeds find themselves in a much different position than this
time last year, never mind six years ago. They came into the West Brom ‘19 tie
off the back of a proper dud down in London, losing 1-0 to QPR. It had all the
hallmarks of a Leeds loss in the capital. They conceded cheaply, Pat Bamford
missed a sitter and Izzy Brown’s unexpected debut could have ended with him
being sent off within ten minutes. It all combined to make Marcelo Bielsa sad
and allow himself to be caught at his most vulnerable, pictured on his hunkers
with his head bowed only moments after snapping at assembled journalists asking
him about burnout.
Marcelo Bielsa after his Leeds side lost 1-0 to QPR tonight, leaving them in third 😢#MOT #Leeds pic.twitter.com/9N10ImdVhH
— GiveMeSport Football (@GMS__Football) February 26, 2019
The prospect of facing West Brom three days later was far
from enticing. They had the best away form in the Championship and they’d
battered Leeds 4-1 at The Hawthorns earlier in the season on a night in which
Bielsa’s team were exposed. The game came a month after Leeds hosted Daniel
Farke’s Norwich in a big Saturday night kick-off, a battle between the top two.
Leeds went behind after four minutes thanks to a deflected Mario Vrancic
free-kick and ended up losing 3-1. There was a feeling that perhaps Bielsa’s
team weren’t up to the level we thought they were when they came flying out of
the blocks at the start of the campaign.
All of that evaporated when Pablo’s foot connected with the
ball in the opening seconds against West Brom. It was Elland Road under the
lights and Leeds were a goal up in the first minute. The atmosphere inside the
ground that night was one rarely matched ever since. There have been several
great nights at Elland Road, but few felt quite like this one. Every West Brom
touch was booed with a petulance that sucked in even the most corinthian of
fans. We weren’t long removed from the Spygate scandal and the game against
Derby that followed it, another night where the Leeds fans combined to create a
colosseum of obnoxious, belligerent beauty, a siege mentality against the
almost certainly corrupt Football League [Ed: ‘almost’ is doing a lot of work
here, in case any of the EFL’s solicitors are reading, the jobsworths].
By the time Leeds made it 2-0 through Pat Bamford on the
half hour, West Brom were totally at sea. The Elland Road atmosphere backed up
the ultra-intense Leeds performance to leave the Baggies wishing they’d just
stayed home. There was a palpable buzz around the ground at half-time as
disbelief at what we’d seen turned into speculation of what might come. If
Leeds play like this for another 45 minutes, it could be a cricket score.
Playing behind Bamford, Tyler Roberts was having the game of
his life and had already assisted Pat’s first goal. Roberts picked up another
assist on the hour, winning the ball back inside his own half, before dribbling
past a helpless Jake Livermore and roaming into space and passing to Bamford,
whose deflected effort made it 3-0. Game over.
By the time Jamie Shackleton came on as a 90th minute sub
for Roberts, West Brom were desperately waiting for the full-time whistle, a
shrill sound of relief. Leeds broke down their right wing and Shackleton played
a ball across the six-yard box and, in vintage Bielsa fashion, there was Gjanni
Alioski to tap-in. 4-0 Leeds and the team were dancing in front of the Kop, on
Alioski’s instructions.
What a night. Everyone was happy except our Michael
Normanton, who said on that week’s podcast: “The first goal — too early. I was
loading magazines into the car.” I hope Pablo apologised to him after.
A repeat of the Elland Road atmosphere that night might be
impossible thanks to Sky’s demand for a 12:30 kick-off on Saturday, but if
there’s one set of fans you’d back to cause a lunchtime carnival, they belong
to Leeds United.