Leeds United will rue two costly 'mistakes' despite coming from behind to earn a draw with Newcastle United. That is the view of the Match of the Day panel, after a late deflected Rasmus Kristensen strike ensured the points were shared at Elland Road on Saturday.
Sam Allardyce's first match in the home dugout got off to a dream start after Luke Ayling pounced on a rebound to fire the hosts in front after just seven minutes. Leeds were then awarded an opportunity to double their advantage from the penalty spot, only for Nick Pope to save Patrick Bamford's effort.
The Whites were then punished either side of the interval as Callum Wilson scored twice from the spot, with the equaliser coming after Max Wober brought Alexander Isak down inside the box. Minutes after Leeds spurned the opportunity to take a two-goal lead, Newcastle pulled themselves level and Shaun Wright-Phillips admits there was nothing Allardyce could have done about either of the goals his side conceded.
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The former Manchester City and Chelsea winger said: "There's not much a manager can do from that point on the pitch with the mistakes that were made today. I was actually surprised by some of them, like here [Newcastle's equaliser] Firpo falls over and this tackle from Wober. I was like, 'what were you thinking?' Slow down, stay on your feet, and it kind of all went downhill a little bit from then."
Wilson fired the Magpies ahead following the interval from the penalty spot, after a VAR review judged Junior Firpo to have handled the ball. Wright-Phillips expressed his surprise at the full-back's decision-making, while Ian Wright could not understand the defender's thought process.
The pundit added: "When you look at this one, look how high this man's hand is. Surely at some stage, you have to be thinking my hand, I've got to move my hand from being this high."
The point means Leeds United now sit a point adrift of safety with two matches remaining, although relegation rivals Everton and Leicester City still have to play in the latest round of fixtures. Allardyce's side travel to West Ham next weekend before finishing the season at Elland Road against Tottenham, and Wright was full of praise for the Whites' application in their draw with Newcastle.
The Arsenal legend said: "It was working. They were very intense, they really went at Newcastle, closed them down, went direct, and it was working.
"The closing down...the work they must have put in this week is probably why Allardyce was probably thinking we should have got three points out of this game."
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