Leeds United's first half performance away to Wolverhampton Wanderers two weeks ago was rocked by the premature withdrawal of centre-forward Patrick Bamford. The England striker ruptured tissue in the base of his foot, a problem he had been plagued by for the entire season, meaning he will now spend six weeks on the sidelines. Dejected by repeated injury setbacks, Bamford was visibly emotional on the substitutes' bench at Molineux, the palm of his hand cupping a sullen chin.
Sam Greenwood was thrust on in Bamford's place for the remaining 70 minutes of the match. Having taken a short period of time to acclimatise, Greenwood eventually contributed something meaningful during the second half. Shrugging off the challenge of Roman Saiss, he controlled the Wolves defender's scuffed clearance, laying it into Rodrigo's path who found the net from a tight angle.
Leeds' equalising goal was nothing short of chaotic, but knitted together by an instance of poise and clarity from Greenwood. The 20-year-old was commended for his performance by head coach Jesse Marsch prior to this weekend's fixture against Southampton: "When you talk about the the striker position, certainly Sam Greenwood I thought played really well in Wolves off the bench and we kind of used him for a little bit as the striker position and then one of the 10s."
