‘I knew straight away…’ – Darren Bent shares verdict on big moment in Leeds win v Boro
Darren Bent has claimed it was great defending by Middlesbrough’s Ryan Shotton that prevented Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford from scoring on Wednesday evening.
The Whites picked up all three points in a 1-0 win, but many fans slammed Bamford after he failed to find the back of the net from one-yard out against his former side.
On closer inspection, Shotton got a slight touch on the ball which took it out of the 26-year-old’s path as he had to watch it deflect off him into Aynsley Pears’ grateful hands.
Bent defended Bamford immediately and instead put the spotlight on Shotton’s last-gasp defending in the 1-0 victory.
“I knew straight away, I mean when people were saying he missed a sitter,” he said during EFL on Quest.
“His movements fantastic, goes to go to the near stick, darts back into the six-yard box and to be fair, it’s brilliant defending by Ryan Shotton. He’s managed to somehow just get his studs on it just before Bamford’s about to tap it in the empty net.
“That’s great defending, that’s not a bad miss.”
Bent is spot on. If you take a closer look at the footage, Shotton somehow manages to get a touch on the ball without diverting it into his own net – something which is remarkable in this situation.
Given the stick Bamford has received before this game, it was easy for many fans to jump on the bandwagon and seemingly blame the 26-year-old for his so-called miss.
Bamford did have five shots against Boro [WhoScored], and he could have probably found the back of the net, but he once again proved his worth to the side.
LUFC DATA pointed out his impact defensively on the Whites, and he has a bigger role in our impressive record than many would believe. With Bamford on the pitch, Leeds concede a goal every 134 minutes, compared to every 47 minutes when he is absent.
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