Leeds 2-1 Norwich: Joe Gelhardt nets dramatic 94th-minute winner - Mail Online 13/3/22

Leeds 2-1 Norwich: Joe Gelhardt nets dramatic 94th-minute winner to boost the hosts' survival hopes as Jesse Marsch picks up his first win since replacing Marcelo Bielsa - but the Canaries remain rooted in 20th

Rodrigo put Leeds ahead in a first half that Leeds dominated from start to finish

Norwich looked to have rescued a draw when Kenny McLean scored late on

However, Joe Gelhardt popped up to give his side all three points in added time

By CRAIG HOPE

To borrow American sporting parlance, it felt like Jesse Marsch was readying his team for a Hail Mary when, in the 92nd minute and with Leeds having just conceded a stadium-deflating equaliser, he threw on teenage forward Joe Gelhardt rather than settle for a tie. What a God-like intervention it proved to be.

Within 90 seconds, Gelhardt - all 5ft 9in of him - was out-jumping Norwich centre-back Ben Gibson to flick on goalkeeper Illan Meslier’s hopeful punt downfield.

Gelhardt's unlikely header found Raphinha and it looked as if those home prayers were about to be answered when he skipped by Brandon Williams and raced through on Tim Krul’s goal.

The locals were just about to sink back into their pews as Krul forced Raphinha wide. But then, from the by-line and on his weaker right foot, the Brazilian conjured the canniest of hooks into the six-yard area. And there was Gelhardt, the stocky little kid with a tuck-shop grin helping himself to the sweetest of strikes. From Hail Mary to hallelujah.

It was, it should be noted, Gelhardt’s first goal at Elland Road. Not that this was about statistics or any significance attached to them. Rather, it was about a moment in time. A moment to send the mercury rising and bodies tumbling.

Marsch, airborne on the touchline, looked more like an NBA star with a slam-dunk salute. But for Leeds, a three-pointer at last, two months on from their previous victory.

‘That’s as high as I can jump,’ said the American afterwards. ’In America, we call that a credit card celebration.’

It was certainly a priceless goal. Marsch may only have been two defeats in as successor to Marcelo Bielsa, but he was starting to look and sound a little like the right man at the wrong time. Do you really parachute a blue-sky-thinking manager into a storm?

Thursday’s 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa finished with scenes of unrest as fans, unhappy with the removal of the Argentine, turned on the directors’ box. Marsch could not have felt comfortable as a toxic air filled with boos and the sound of Bielsa’s name.

The fumes of fury had not exactly cleared by the time kick-off came around here. During a nervy opening you could not escape the feeling that some supporters were waiting to discharge their discontent. If they could not beat Norwich, reasoned one popular fans’ podcast, they were as good as relegated.

Given the five-game form table had these two stuck to the bottom with a combined 10 defeats, it was the sort of match in which bookies might well offer odds on both teams to lose.

Marsch had spoken of the fear among his players beneath the pressure of a home crowd and, to that end, Leeds really needed to score first. On 14 minutes, they did so.

One of the manager’s instructions is to get the ball into the penalty area with haste. From there, he argues, things can happen. That they did when Diego Llorente’s high ball was half cleared by Ozan Kabak and Dan James gathered before Rodrigo took up the baton and drilled into the bottom corner.

No player more than James, you suspect, will better demonstrate the high-energy values of Marsch. The forward is buzzy and obedient and, every time he pressed with all the enthusiasm of a toddler closing on a pigeon, it won a fist pump of approval from his new boss. He set the standard for a first-half performance that should have given Leeds a cushion far more comfortable than just the one goal.

One offensive, originating in their own goalmouth and cutting through Norwich with pace and guile, deserved better than Raphinha’s miscued finish from six yards. It would have been a goal straight out of Bielsa’s playbook.

But Marsch clearly has ideas of his own and one ambitious exchange between Patrick Bamford and Raphinha - they played a one-two over a distance of 40 yards - was unlucky not to climax with a goal when the latter volleyed against the crossbar. Unlike against Villa, the half ended to hearty applause.

But the second half was not so fluent and Norwich had already hit the bar when Leeds captain Luke Ayling tripped Milot Rashica in the area on 75 minutes. Penalty. Or so we thought. Replays suggested the winger had taken the opportunity to fall over Ayling’s leg and Stuart Attwell’s decision to overturn was just about correct. Not that Canaries boss Dean Smith saw it that way.

The controversy of that call seemed consigned to a footnote when Norwich midfielder Kenny McLean then met Teemu Pukki’s centre and turned in from close-range on 91 minutes. Gelhardt’s introduction went largely unnoticed amid the fallout from the goal, but not for long.

It could have all counted for nothing, however, had Meslier not then saved with his face when Pukki volleyed on target in the 95th minute. Marsch was again taking leave of the turf after that point-blank stop.

The head coach must also come back down to earth. This was one win - and a somewhat fortunate one at that - against the Premier League’s worst team.

Marsch’s Hail Mary may well have worked here, but there is a long way to go before he experiences anything close to the worship of Bielsa.