Joe Gelhardt's 94th-minute winner against Norwich hands Jesse Marsch first win as Leeds manager - Telegraph 13/3/22

Marsch saw his team concede a 91st minute equaliser and sent Gelhardt on, seconds later the teenager scored a winner

Mike McGrath

 AT ELLAND ROAD

In American sport they call it a "Hail Mary". Jesse Marsch had just seen his Leeds United team concede a 91st-minute equaliser so sent on Joe Gelhardt as a substitute. Seconds later the teenager had scored a winning goal and earned Marsch his first victory in English football.

It sparked bedlam at Elland Road. Victor Orta, Leeds’ sporting director, broke down in tears in the directors’ box. Substitutes mobbed Gelhardt as he jumped into the crowd. This victory breathed life into their bid for Premier League survival, on an afternoon Marsch says he will remember until he dies.

The Wisconsin-born coach has won titles in Austria but had not experienced the emotion of a last-gasp win in front of Leeds supporters. “I was asked if I’ll remember this in two weeks,” said Marsch. “I’ll remember this on my deathbed. The points are big but the moment is even bigger.” 

Wild celebrations reflected the magnitude of this win after two opening defeats for Marsch. They looked good value for their lead through Rodrigo Moreno but conceding so late to Kenny McLean’s strike would have felt like a defeat.

Marsch’s team were snarling and belligerent three days after meekly surrendering to Aston Villa. They crashed into tackles, left boots in, started confrontations and took control of the match by force.

Luke Ayling is never one to hold back from a tackle and trod a fine line when he crashed into the ankles of Milot Rashica, exposing his studs to the Norwich winger. The foul went to Var and the decision remained a yellow card, but would not have been reversed had Stuart Attwell deemed it a red card.

“The difference between this and Villa was the aggression and quality,” said Marsch. “It gave the crowd something to root for. Jacko (first-team coach Mark Jackson) said when people come to Elland Road they are going to see a fight. We wanted to make sure we did that after Villa in a better fashion.”

While Marsch’s reputation is being a forward-thinking modern coach, his first goal at Leeds was route one. Diego Llorente launched a ball forward and the presence of Patrick Bamford, making his first start since September, caused panic. Ozan Kabak headed into the direction of Dan James, with Rodrigo taking control of the situation and driving home a finish that flicked off Ben Gibson. 

Norwich were furious with the officials for allowing the goal as Bamford was offside in the build-up but not interfering, with goalkeeper coach Ed Wootten getting a yellow card for his protests.

“We all know Patrick Bamford is offside, it is a ball for Patrick Bamford,” said Norwich manager Dean Smith. “The game knows he is offside but the law says he isn’t offside. We head the ball down because of Patrick Bamford.”

Bamford did not just play a part in the goal. He made Leeds look a different team, leading the line from the start for the first time in six months. How they missed him during the final days of Marcelo Bielsa’s reign.

The England forward provided a target for his team-mates but also ran off defenders and got behind Norwich when Raphinha led a counter-attack, with Bamford’s finish just creeping wide. Raphinha also hit the bar after Bamford teed him up with a cross. But he could only last 45 minutes before getting taken off to guard against injury.

Without a striker, Leeds did not get the second goal to kill off Norwich’s hopes. Smith’s team hit the bar after their substitutes combined. Mathias Normann carried the ball into the penalty area, with Jonathan Rowe’s shot coming off the frame.

Norwich were awarded a penalty, only for Attwell to overturn it with a look on his pitchside monitor. Rashica had gone over Ayling’s challenge but replays showed he had trodden on the Leeds captain’s ankle himself.

Then came the stoppage-time drama. Firstly McLean slid in his finish after Teemu Pukki crossed into the six-yard area. It looked like Marsch would be still searching for a first win, but then he sent on Gelhardt.

“He asked about set-pieces and I told him not to worry about that, just get in the game,” said Marsch. “It wasn’t the time to talk over the details. I asked him to be aggressive and join in as the second striker.”

After his Hail Mary, Gelhardt answered his manager’s prayers, beating Gibson in the air to a long ball, then tapping in after Raphinha got past Brandon Williams and crossed. There was still time for Illan Meslier to save with his head when Pukki went through.