Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford handed five rating v Andorra
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford made his England debut versus Andorra on Sunday, but his performance earned mixed reviews.
Bamford, who turned 28 as the Three Lions swept the international minnows aside 4-0 at Wembley, was finally handed national team recognition by Gareth Southgate.
However, he failed to find the net before being replaced by Harry Kane on 62 minutes.
During half-time analysis of his display versus Andorra, Ian Wright and Roy Keane defended the Whites centre-forward on ITV after host Mark Pougatch questioned him.
Sky Sports shared their player ratings after the routine victory, and they sided more in Pougatch’s camp as they handed him a five out of ten.
“So the anticipated debut happened but the expected chances didn’t,” they wrote. ‘[He] Had scarcely any service to work off prior to being replaced and only came vaguely close to scoring when he hit a second-half snap-shot over the bar before the offside flag was belatedly raised. Impossible to fault the player, but it was an opportunity not taken in more ways than one.”
So, it is said that it is “impossible to fault” Bamford, yet he was handed a sub-par rating, with only Kieran Tripper scoring lower? That seems a pretty bizarre analysis of his performance.
Bamford showed some great movement during the World Cup qualifier but, ultimately, his teammates failed to create too many clear-cut chances for him.
There were some near-misses as he stretched for deliveries, but there was very little he could do, as alluded to by Sky Sports.
That’s why handing him a rating of five seems harsh in the extreme when they were playing a low-block side and ended up winning comfortably.
Bamford did the hard yards in the opening hour of the game, stretching the defence and tiring the opposition out ready for the likes of Kane and Jack Grealish to exploit later in the game.
Hopefully, that is not the last we see of Bamford this international break and he is handed an opportunity against Poland on Wednesday when he should be afforded more space.
In other Leeds United news, Ally McCoist was blown away by this Whites ace after a major weekend event.