Leeds United 2 Charlton Ath 2: Mowatt’s double is only good enough to earn point
Yorkshire Post 5/11/14by Richard Sutcliffe at Elland Road
THE wait goes on. Leeds United’s search for a victory will stretch to at least a 50th day after two quite wonderful goals by Alex Mowatt were not enough last night to see off a dogged Charlton Athletic.
United’s talented teenager, one of the major plusses in what has been a fractured and largely disappointing campaign at Elland Road, struck with a couple of sublime left-foot shots that gave Addicks goalkeeper Stephen Henderson no chance.
On both occasions, however, Johann Berg Gudmundsson was able to peg back the hosts.
The Icelandic international’s first equaliser came as a result of an uncharacteristic blunder by goalkeeper Marco Silvestri and the second from the penalty spot after Giuseppe Bellusci had been penalised for grappling in the area.
The upshot was that a big opportunity to claim Leeds’s first win in eight games was spurned, meaning Blackpool’s visit on Saturday will be exactly 50 days since Huddersfield Town were beaten in what proved to be the final game of Neil Redfearn’s spell in temporary charge.
If that run is to be ended against the Championship’s bottom club then Leeds must look to replicate their second-half efforts against Charlton rather than the insipid display of the opening 45 minutes.
Like the Catherine wheels which will be let off in their hundreds around Leeds tonight, that first half was something of a slow burner.
Sparks rarely flew with perhaps the most explosive reaction from anyone in the home ranks coming when Redfearn berated referee Graham Salisbury for taking an inordinate amount of time to allow Mirco Antenucci back on to the field after treatment.
The United head coach was so incensed that both the fourth official and the linesman unfortunate enough to be on the West Stand touchline also received an almighty ear-bashing.
His players may not have been on the end of such a ferocious onslaught during the interval, but there will certainly have been areas that Redfearn will have been keen to address.
Namely, how any promising situations during a largely forgettable opening 45 minutes would, just like a sub-standard firework, invariably fizzle out and die.
The closest Leeds went to breaking the deadlock came when Mowatt hammered a 20-yard shot wide, while Charlton’s best opening came courtesy of a mistake by Silvestri as the Italian goalkeeper totally missed his attempted punch of Jamie Jackson’s corner.
Andre Bikey, as surprised as anyone inside Elland Road by the howler, could not react fast enough and the defender could only half -hit the ball towards goal which allowed Stephen Warnock to avert the danger.
Judging by how early United re-appeared for the second half, Redfearn may well have had a few choice words to say in the dressing room.
If he did then the words clearly did the trick as Leeds took just four minutes to go ahead.
Neat work out wide on the left saw Warnock scamper clear before sending over a cross that Tommaso Bianchi headed back across goal towards Mowatt.
The moment was screaming out for a right-footed, first time effort. Mowatt, however, hesitated and it seemed the chance had gone until the teenager shifted the ball on to his left before unleashing an unstoppable 20-yard shot that flew past Stephen Henderson.
Charlton hit back on the hour after muddled defending inexplicably presented Gudmundsson with the ball inside the six-yard box.
After one heavy touch, the Iceland international looked to have made a hash of things only for his shot from a tight angle to be bundled over the line by Silvestri.
It was an awful blunder but, credit to Leeds, they regained the lead on 65 minutes and again Warnock set up Mowatt, who curled an exquisite shot beyond Henderson from 20 yards.
A powerful run and cross by Souleymane Doukara that was fired just wide by Antenucci almost put the hosts further ahead before Charlton equalised for a second time when Giuseppe Bellusci was penalised for a foul in the area and Gudmundsson fired in the resulting spot-kick.
Ten minutes remained when the Iceland international sent Silvestri the wrong way from 12 yards, but there was to be no dramatic winner as Sam Byram saw his looping shot touched over by Henderson and then Lewis Cook dragged a shot wide in stoppage time.