Joe Gelhardt must start for Leeds United against Wolves
Joe Gelhardt wormed his way into the hearts of many a Leeds United supporter with his last gasp winner against Norwich City on Sunday.
The English teenager, 19, arrived at the right time to steer home Raphinha’s pull back to send Elland Road bonkers as Jesse Marsch secured his first win as Whites boss.
The 2-1 victory has gone a long way to easing relegation fears around LS11 and if Marsch wants more success away at Wolves on Friday night, then Gelhardt surely has to start again.
The return from the injury of Patrick Bamford is a welcome sight for Leeds fans after so long without last season’s leading scorer but he is still searching for that sharpness he needs to play to his highest potential.
He looked ok against the Canaries but couldn’t get on the scoresheet himself and it might be wise to start him on the bench and give the teenager a chance to shine.
Just focussing on his memorable goal at the weekend, he did so much more than just tap the ball home and receive all of the admiration.
As Illan Meslier lumped the ball forward, Gelhardt leapt as high as he could to beat Ben Gibson in the air and that set Raphinha away down the right.
Without this crucial flick-on, Marsch is still waiting for that elusive first win.
He didn’t then rest on his laurels though and a lung-busting run to keep up with the Brazilian left him in the best place to calmly slot home the winner while other players in white struggled to cover the ground having been on the field all game.
It wasn’t the first time the 19-year-old has popped up with a big goal as he did so away at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season.
His sheer determination to beat Thiago Silva to the ball to make it 2-2 was hugely admirable and he then had the composure to divert Tyler Roberts’ cross into the net, beyond Edouard Mendy.
He may only be a teenager but he is showing every instinct that a striker should and if Marsch has the belief in him, he can be a proper star of Elland Road very quickly.
In other Leeds United news, Adam Pope has shared a crucial update regarding the Jean-Kevin Augustin court case today.