Sam Allardyce singles out Leeds United unsung hero and subtle tactical tweak amidst Newcastle chaos - YEP 13/5/23
Leeds United and Newcastle played out a fraught score-draw at Elland Road on Saturday lunchtime, which saw three penalties awarded and a red card shown by referee by Simon Hooper.
By Joe Donnohue
The Whites came away with a point, despite taking the lead
and then surrendering their advantage through the concession of two penalties.
Sam Allardyce’s side equalised late on through Rasmus Kristensen’s deflected
attempt and played their part in what was a bad-tempered affair beneath the
spring sunshine.
Tempers flared on the touchline following Junior Firpo’s
late red card, as an individual from the crowd confronted Newcastle boss Eddie
Howe and was swiftly apprehended by stadium security.
Speaking after the 2-2 draw, Sam Allardyce commended his
players’ performances, as well as their fight to come back from 2-1 down in the
second half.
"[They] gave me some hope about us going forward
because they tried their very best today and I can't ask for any more than
that.”
On substitutions and a tweak at half-time, Allardyce said:
"I felt that bringing him [Adam Forshaw] on at half-time was the right
thing with his experience, because we'd done okay but we got in the game better
with him on. We changed the system actually because we pushed Weston [McKennie]
up on Joelinton who was getting far too much ball so that helped us a bit but
defending and our overall performance was good today.
"And I have to point out my goalie [Joel Robles] by the
way, I thought he were excellent,” Allardyce added.