Raphinha's Harrison anger, Lage's altercation with Leeds United fans among moments missed - Leeds Live 24/10/21


A round-up of the bits you may not have caught at Elland Road during Leeds United's 1-1 Premier League draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves set their stall out

Marginal gains. That’s the mantra which comes out of the most successful sporting institutions around the world. Every single factor in a victory has every inch of benefit squeezed out of it. No matter how trivial it seems.

Wolverhampton Wanderers made it clear they weren’t in West Yorkshire to make friends right from the off. At the coin toss, Conor Coady saw fit to turn the sides around and have Leeds attacking the Don Revie Stand from the start.

Traditionally, of course, that’s a routine normally saved for the second half. The visitors drew the boos from the home support as a result and there would be more to come from their persistent time-wasting.

Raphinha fumes

In the 26th minute, there was a glorious chance for Jack Harrison as he cut in from the left flank. Raphinha had sprayed the ball wide from the centre and the former Manchester City man had time to drive at goal.

Rodrigo and Daniel James got in each other’s way making the same run towards the near post, while the Brazilian was bursting from his initial pass as a late arrival into the box.

Rather than pick out any of them, Harrison lashed a drive at goal towards the near post, but it was wild and wide.

Raphinha let Harrison know what he thought with a sustained volley of frustration and plenty of arm-throwing. The Brazil international would have been running onto the ball from near the penalty spot with space to shoot.

In the next phase of play, the pair seemed to have another talk and Harrison provided some kind of explanation.

Klich makes one young boy’s day

Amid the desperation for a Leeds United win, there remains that starstruck quality to a day trip at Elland Road for thousands of young fans.

There was one young boy, wearing his lilac third kit with Kalvin Phillips’s name and number, stood with his phone taking pictures at the front of the John Charles Stand during the warm-up.

As he watched in awe at the passing between Phillips and Mateusz Klich it was the latter who responded to the boy’s calls for attention or words of encouragement (he was too far away from the press box to be heard).

The look on the boy’s face as Klich responded to him was wonderful. He hopped in the air and hurtled up the nearest flight of steps to tell his family what had just happened.

Such small things many of us take for granted, but these players are kings for many young fans. Such a simple gesture from Klich will never be forgotten by that child.

Jimenez plays the pantomime villain

Raul Jimenez was the main object of the home support’s ire on Saturday afternoon. From taking an early dive after a fair 50-50 with Liam Cooper in the Leeds box, the Mexican had his card marked.

Time after time, it was the Wolves nine who was on the deck appealing to referee Robert Jones for cards and protection.

Time after time, it was the Wolves nine being hammered by the home support for going down too easily at every opportunity. A specialist in defending a 1-0 lead.

Towards the end of the first half, after a fairly legitimate foul, Jimenez asked Jones again how many times he would need to be fouled before more cards were handed out.

The striker gestured two, three, four and five with his hand for good measure.

Raphinha hopping mad

When Raphinha went down under a challenge from Romain Saiss in the second half, all the attention was on the handball shout from around the stadium.

There was little care at first for what Raphinha was, or wasn’t doing. He wasn’t moving and he was staying down with what turned out to be a match-ending injury.

The Brazilian was so frustrated the referee had not waved on medical care sooner he was throwing his arm at Jones in disgust before hopping himself off the pitch on his good leg.

With pain which proved enough to end his afternoon, you can see why he was so angry he did not get treatment sooner.

Even the medical staff get fed up with Wolves time wasting

It was no surprise to see United’s players and coaching staff growing impatient and fed up with the brazen time wasting being employed by Wolves on Saturday.

Every four or five minutes there would be another player in the away side going to ground, asking for help with their cramping legs.

We have all watched football for long enough to know there’s a very good chance cramp was not the problem and Diego Llorente was the home player who became most irate.

The centre-back’s patience with Joao Moutinho snapped in the latter stages of the match, before the equaliser, and he bent over into the Portuguese’s face before Saiss shoved him away.

However, it was Tom Robinson, the club’s first-team sports scientist, who caught the eye with his own protests.

It is very unusual to see a member of the medical staff having a word with the fourth official, in this case Mike Dean.

Robinson, like the rest of us, was sick of seeing the home side’s efforts wasted by the antics of Wolves.

Gelhardt takes the adulation of teammates and crowd

By his own sky-high standards in under-23 football, winning a penalty, firing a rasping shot on target and turning defenders inside out with his dribbling was a pretty mediocre afternoon for Joe Gelhardt.

Except this was the Premier League, this was a rammed Elland Road and this was the sharp end of elite football where it matters most in the dying embers of a game.

The reaction of his teammates was especially telling when he proved to be the United player who finally unlocked the door to the Wolves defence and drew that fatal error for the spot-kick.

Pretty much of all the team ran to Gelhardt, got in his face, shoved him, patted him on the back. The boy who got the entire club out of jail.

Post-match, as he stood before the cameras for broadcast interviews on the touchline in front of the John Charles Stand, the smattering of fans in the ground stood to applaud him. He could not hide the smile.

Lage’s finger wag

In the heated aftermath of the penalty decision, Bruno Lage discovered just how close the home fans are to the back of the away dugout.

As he protested against the decision he, predictably, drew the ire of the Elland Road faithful, who shook their hands in a fashion at him while he wagged his finger as he retreated to the safety of the dugout.

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