Wilfried Gnonto and Patrick Bamford scored a brace each to help Leeds produce one of the high-scoring football results of the weekend in the FA Cup. A second goal from the Italian teenager and Rodrigo’s 12th goal of the year made it 3-0 after 36 minutes. Wilfried Gnonto gave the hosts the perfect start with a beautiful scissor kick after just 26 seconds. Curtis Nelson of Cardiff felt he had a slim chance to tie the score before halftime, but a VAR review disallowed his header. After scoring his first of the season in the loss to Aston Villa on Friday, Patrick Bamford then came off the bench at halftime and netted two goals in five minutes to make it three goals in two games.
Leeds had to rely on a 93rd-minute equalizer from 18-year-old Sonny Perkins to force a replay in South Wales ten days prior, so it was clear that they would be eager to clear the record in the first FA Cup match at Elland Road since January 2016. Head coach Jesse Marsch had stated in the lead-up to the game that a victory over the Bluebirds might potentially jump-start his team’s season, and with less than 30 seconds left on the clock, they got off to a fast start.
Rodrigo sent a magnificent ball to the far post, where Gnonto outran Tom Sang by a few yards and unleashed a scissor kick that was almost an exact replica of Paulo Di Canio’s legendary volley against Wimbledon in the Premier League 23 years prior. Sam Greenwood and Gnonto tormented Cardiff full-backs Sang and Joel Bagan on either wing, but the Cardiff defense held strong for the following 30 minutes until Rodrigo pounced on Jack Harrison’s defense-splitting pass, forcing Jak Alnwick to leave his line, and scored his 12th goal of the year.
Two minutes into the second, the score was 3-0. Harrison served as the mastermind once more, initiating a sharp breakaway and handing the ball to Gnonto, who nimbly slammed the ball home at the near post. Nelson’s header was assisted over the goal line by Illan Meslier after Leeds failed to clear their lines after a corner. However, any glimmer of hope was quickly dashed when referee Thomas Bramall was instructed to visit the pitchside monitor by VAR Mike Dean and determined that Andy Rinomhota had been offside and in the goalkeeper’s eyeline when contact with the ball had been made.
After the break, Leeds continued to control play and look for more goals, but they weren’t able to add to their total until Bamford moved into the area and skillfully lifted a shot past Alnwick in the 71st minute. Five minutes later, he added a second goal, scoring coolly after playing a deft one-two with Joe Gelhardt. Late on, Cardiff did join the celebration when Callum Robinson headed in after a shaky host defense and then converted a penalty awarded after another VAR review. However, the goals did little more than take the shine off an otherwise resounding victory for Leeds.
“I believe he has grown really swiftly. His self-confidence is evident. He’s a really grounded individual, and I believe that a big part of his success comes from the fact that he cares about his profession, is constantly wanting to do more and do better, absorbs the knowledge we provide him, and then tries to put it into practice. He gave yet another excellent performance,” Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch said. “It was humorous because Luis [Sinisterrainjury ]’s allowed Cry Summerville to start moving; now that Cry has fallen, Willy has an opportunity to start moving. You can see that our confidence is growing; even after the Villa game, I was certain that we would have confidence. It was nice to see you this evening.”
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