Jesse Marsch will remember Joe Gelhardt’s last-gasp winner for a long time

Posted Monday, March 14, 2022 by PA

Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch said he is unlikely to ever forget Joe Gelhardt’s stoppage-time winner against Norwich which sealed his first victory at the club.

Teenager Gelhardt stepped off the bench to clinch Leeds a vital 2-1 triumph against their relegation rivals just after Kenny McLean’s equaliser in added time had appeared to have snatched Norwich an unlikely point

Leeds had taken an early lead through Rodrigo’s excellent finish and looked set to be punished for missing a hatful of chances when McLean struck before Gelhardt’s last-gasp intervention.

Marsch said: “It was nice. As a player and as a coach I’ve been part of a lot of championships, those stick with you.

“But when you talk about individual moments in your career, that was certainly special and I know I’ll remember that one for a long time.”

Marsch, who had lost his first two games since replacing Marcelo Bielsa at the end of last month, did his level best not to get carried away by the moment.

“I think there are a lot bigger things in life than football, like your family and your children being born and a lot of other things which I think take a lot more precedence,” the American said.

Gelhardt, 19, a stoppage-time replacement for Mateusz Klich, sparked delirium at Elland Road when he fired home at the death after being teed-up by Raphinha.

Marsch said: “I just yelled at him to get in the box. It wasn’t the time to talk over every detail, but certainly it was a big moment. A big moment for him and for us.

“I feel like I played 96 minutes! There’s a lot of emotion in the late stages of the match. I’ve heard a lot about the magic of Elland Road.

“Certainly an incredible experience. My family was here for the first time today and for them and for me and everyone, as we’re moving forward together, to understand exactly what this is.

“I’m continuing to try and learn everything about this city, the people, the club and then how to help it transition into a version of football that I think can be really successful.”

Norwich slipped to their sixth straight league defeat and remain five points from safety, while 17th-placed Everton have three games in hand.

Boss Dean Smith said he did not understand why referee Stuart Attwell was asked to check the monitor by VAR after initially awarding a spot kick for Luke Ayling’s second-half challenge on Milot Rashica.

Rashica appeared to stand on Ayling’s leg before tumbling and Attwell reversed his decision.

Smith said: “As soon as the referee’s going over to the screen you know it’s getting overturned, that’s because he’s probably been told to overturn it.

“Is it a clear and obvious error? I don’t know because that changes from game to game and week to week.”

Smith, who said he was still determined to enjoy his daughter’s 19th birthday, felt his side had been outplayed in the first half, but were the better team after the interval.

He said: “It’s going to be sore because we put a lot into that in the second half and came away with nothing.

“First of all I have to go and pick myself up. I’ll put a brave face on, it’s my daughter’s birthday so I’ll go and see her and have a bite to eat, then get round to lifting the players.”