Graham Smyth baffled by Lewis Smith controversy in Blackburn v Leeds United
Graham Smyth has been left baffled by referee Lewis Smith’s decision to not send off Tyrhys Dolan in the Championship clash between Leeds United and Blackburn on Saturday.
The midfielder went into a high and late tackle on Junior Firpo and brought the full-back down, which most expected to be met with a sending off but only a yellow was given.
Writing on the Yorkshire Evening Post’s website (1 December), Smyth shared his thoughts on one of the main talking points of the game.
“If nothing else, there was urgency from the visitors,” he wrote. “Referee Lewis Smith could and probably should have taken centre stage when Dolan went into a high, late challenge on Firpo.
“But even had he produced a red card, there was no guarantee that Leeds would have taken advantage, such was the disconnect between their attacking performance and what they have produced in the final third recently.”
Leeds United need to pick themselves up and move on from the Blackburn defeat
Since the start of the season, Leeds have been touted as one of the favourites to win the Championship title.
The Whites spent a decent chunk of money in the summer in order to bolster their ranks – albeit they also raked in significant fees too – and so far, it seems to have paid off.
Of course, after their narrow 1-0 loss at Ewood Park, the West Yorkshire outfit are now second in the table and are two points adrift of league leaders Sheffield United.
The form of Daniel Farke’s team has been about in line with where Leeds fans likely expected their team to be, but if they want to come away with the title by the end of the campaign, they’re going to have to put a consistent winning run together.
There’s still plenty of time left for things to turn around and for the Whites to regain the top spot in the league, but if they continue putting on performances like the one against Blackburn on Saturday, it feels like they’ll miss out on the top spot by the time the end of the campaign comes around.
In other Leeds news, Jon Newsome has raised a problem with Patrick Bamford at Elland Road after what’s happened this season.
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