ADO Den Haag reunion, Gnonto cheers on Leeds United rival and off-camera Coventry City moments — YEP 17/12/23
Leeds United played out a frustrating 1-1 draw with Coventry City at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon
By Graham Smyth
Leeds United remain undefeated at Elland Road but Coventry
City came to the fortress and left with more than Daniel Farke was happy with
on Saturday. Yet another case of missed chances, and a poor concession, left
Farke disappointed and determined to let his players stew in their pain for a
couple of days.
Crysencio Summerville's second half opener was cancelled out
within 10 minutes by Bobby Thomas and though Leeds had chances aplenty to keep
all three points, the 1-1 scoreline remained until the full-time whistle. The
action did not cease there, though, with Summerville involved in a scuffle with
Thomas and others as niggles and frustration, some of which lay at referee
Geoff Eltringham's feet, boiled over. Here's the YEP take.
Good day
Crysencio Summerville
You can't keep a very good winger down for long and after
Tuesday night's shutout at Sunderland, he was back among the goals with a
beautiful finish, running onto Georginio Rutter's through ball. Summerville has
been one of the standout players under Farke this season and hitting 10 goals
by this stage is quite the feat, without adding his six assists to the
conversation. Even when Leeds haven't been at their best, Summerville has
remained dangerous and he will be a key player when Ipswich Town come to Elland
Road next weekend for a huge game.
Bad day
Joel Piroe
This game did very little to convince those who doubt his
suitability for the number 10 role. There was some nice link up play, with his
back to goal, that allowed others to progress into space, and he got into good
positions once or twice, but it was not the impact Leeds fans want to see from
him in tight games.
Geoff Eltringham
A referee's decisions will almost always come under scrutiny
and sadly for Eltringham that was the case at Elland Road, but how often does
an official appear to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in such notable
fashion? Eltringham appeared to be exactly where players wanted to pass the
ball with frequency. And then there was the leniency with yellow card worthy
fouls in the first half, which appeared to contribute to the tension boiling
over later on. He got the Daniel James penalty appeal right, though, at least
for this correspondent. It just wasn't a good performance, for either side.
Off-camera moments
Summerville and Van Ewijk sharing an embrace before
kick-off. Both ex-Feyenoord youngsters, they were at ADO Den Haag under Alan
Pardew. Farke complaining to fourth official Declan Bourne after the awarding
of a free-kick to Coventry, just a minute after James wasn't given a penalty.
Willy Gnonto, out to warm up, applauding his direct rival for a position, Dan
James, who had sprinted back to intercept a Coventry pass and clean up at the
back. Rodon and Bidwell's ex-Swansea reunion at full-time, while the madness
was kicking off around them.
Summerville's reluctance to shake hands with Thomas, which
led to the Coventry man insisting, physically, and tensions exploding. Gnonto
playing peacekeeper and escorting Summerville down the tunnel, where a
significant security presence prevented further escalation. Archie Gray's long,
slow, solo walk around the pitch, applauding the home fans.
