Crysencio Summerville announced himself to the Leeds United fanbase on Saturday night. The youngster is no stranger to the Whites’ first-team, but on just his second Premier League start for the club, he popped up with the winning goal against Liverpool at Anfield.
It was a goal neither Summerville nor the Leeds fans will forget in a hurry and it will go down as the winger’s breakout moment. He scored his first senior goal against Fulham the week before, but his effort against the Reds saw him step out of the academy and firmly establish himself within the first-team picture at Elland Road.
With that in mind, LeedsLive takes a look back at a few of the more memorable breakout moments Whites supporters have seen from players over the years.
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Joe Gelhardt v Chelsea – December 11, 2021
Leeds fans were already more than aware of Joe Gelhardt’s talent by the time he made his first-team debut, having seen him excel for the club at youth level. As such, they were excited to welcome him onto the pitch for the first time against Southampton in October 2021.
He made his first start a month later against Tottenham Hotspur before bagging his first goal under Marcelo Bielsa at Stamford Bridge. Leeds were trailing when the forward stepped off the bench to replace Raphinha in the 82nd minute of the contest, but within a minute of coming on he was levelling the scores.
Getting across veteran centre-back Thiago Silva, Gelhardt put himself in the perfect position to turn Tyler Roberts’ cross goalwards before celebrating wildly in front of a raucous away end. Ultimately a Jorginho in the fourth minute of added time sealed the win for the home side, but Gelhardt’s name was made.
James Milner v Sunderland – December 26, 2002
Milner became the Premier League's youngster goalscorer when he found the back of the net at the Stadium of Light on Boxing Day in 2002, aged just 16 years and 356 days. The midfielder had made his debut for his hometown club several weeks earlier at Upton Park, but his big moment came against Sunderland after emerging as a first-half substitute for Alan Smith.
Leeds fell behind in the game, thanks to Michael Proctor’s header, but Milner bagged the equaliser by getting himself on the end of Jason Wilcox cross. The Whites eventually won the game 2-1 thanks to a Robbie Fowler penalty.
Milner repeated the feat for the Whites just a couple of days later, stepping off the bench once more to lash the ball beyond Chelsea keeper Ed de Goey for his first goal at Elland Road. Nothing would ever be the same for Milner moving forward.
Alan Smith v Liverpool – November 13, 1998
It took Smith just three minutes to make a name for himself in a Leeds shirt, stepping off the bench to bag a goal on his Leeds debut at the age of 18. The Whites were trailing when Smith replaced Clyde Wijnhard at Anfield in 1998 following yet another Fowler penalty.
However, Smith was the man to equalise with one of his first touches in senior football, burying David Hopkin’s rebounded effort. Smith’s arrival into the game completely swung momentum in Leeds’ favour and the Whites would eventually win 3-1 as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink bagged a brace.
The Rothwell-born youngster grabbed a second a week later as Leeds beat Charlton at Elland Road.
Jack Clarke v Derby – January 11, 2019
The build-up to the visit of Derby was shrouded in controversy as the incident which would become known as ‘spygate’ hit the headlines. As such, the nation’s eyes were on Elland Road as Frank Lampard’s Rams turned up eager to make Leeds pay for their actions.
Clarke’s performance was one of the reasons why they didn’t, though, as the 18-year-old stood out on what was his first start for the club. He caused problems throughout the game for Derby and assisted Kemar Roofe’s opener as Leeds went on to win 2-0 on home soil.
The youngster had performed well on a number of occasions before the clash, but the pressure was on against Derby and he more than announced himself to those watching at Elland Road and at home.
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