mollyfamwatA thrilling day of football saw Leeds United come back from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw against Everton at Elland Road on Saturday.
Leeds United and Everton had an emotional day at Elland Road as the capacity crowd roared once more. Read more in detail here: leeds united stadium.
Leeds’ first goal in front of a packed crowd at Elland Road in 17 months came from Mateusz Klich in the first half.
Elland Road may eventually be able to accommodate 60,000 spectators on matchdays if Leeds United’s big future plans come to reality. Even if such capacity had been available on Saturday, it would not have been enough to meet demand or generated as much noise.
Whites supporters have been waiting a long time for this – it will be the first home Premier League game in 17 years.
Sixteen of those years were spent in the relative obscurity of the lower divisions, followed by an 18-month period that included a long-awaited promotion and a full season of entertaining but disappointingly little attended top-flight football.
On Saturday, they arrived dressed in white, yellow, and blue, ready to cram a year’s worth of celebration into two hours, to scream for their team and commemorate those who are no longer with them, some of them giants whose shoulders the current Leeds United stands on.
They didn’t get the victory they wanted because Everton came prepared to fight fire with fire, but they did send a message that Leeds are back in the big league and that Elland Road is not for the faint of heart.
‘They’ve missed us, and we’ve missed them,’ says the narrator.
It seemed as though fans had never been missing from LS11 in many respects.
The tunnel at the end of Lowfields Road was once again a bustling little bazaar selling badges, scarves, and the Square Ball fanzine; the bar at the Old Peacock was three deep; and Graveleys couldn’t fry fish fast enough.
Luke Ayling subsequently lashed in a volley, let down his hair, and performed air guitar as Leeds defeated Huddersfield to move top of the Championship the last time such events were seen at the stadium.
In front of a sell-out crowd, Luke Ayling scored a powerful volley in Leeds’ last home game.
In the months since, there have been moments of community pleasure – a celebration outside the stadium when promotion was confirmed, complete with a static open-top bus salute from the players, and the admission of 8,000 lucky supporters for a dead rubber against West Bromwich Albion at the conclusion of last season.
Saturday, on the other hand, was a whole different story. An overdue outpouring of relief, pleasure, and acknowledgement of everything that has been accomplished in the past year and a half.
As kickoff neared, bright yellow banners were waved in unison in every stand, the club song Marching On Together was sung out with gusto, and a pre-whistle roar was loud enough to make neutrals’ hair stand on end.
It didn’t go unnoticed by the players.
Leeds captain Liam Cooper said Match of the Day, “It was amazing to be going out to that excitement and enthusiasm.” “The supporters have been without football for a long time, and we’ve truly missed them.”
“If it’s like that every game, we’re going to be extremely ecstatic.”
Kalvin Phillips, who is making his first appearance for England since the Euro 2020 final, added: “It’s been incredible. It demonstrates how much they have missed us and how much we have missed them.”
Although she is no longer alive, she is not forgotten.
Before the game, the monument of Billy Bremner was strewn with scarves and flower tributes.
Unfortunately, some people will never return.
The Billy Bremner statue, on the junction of Elland Road and Lowfield Road, was strewn with scarves and floral tributes to people who had just died. A father, a brother, a sister, and “nana” were all written out in flowers at the feet of one of the club’s greatest heroes.
Generations of fans, both young and old, gathered before kickoff to honor those who were tragically gone before they could experience the good moments that had followed the terrible.
Some of the names are well-known among the fans.
Since the start of the epidemic, a lengthy number of former Leeds players has died, many of them legends from the club’s most successful era on the field under Don Revie.
No Leeds player has made more appearances than Jack Charlton, who died in July of last year, and no one has scored as many goals in a United jersey as Peter Lorimer, who died in March.
Until the Huddersfield game, Norman Hunter was a regular here. Elland Road’s south stand is now named after him, with the one facing Charlton’s, since they were for many years at the heart of Revie’s defense.
Terry Cooper, Trevor Cherry, Mick Bates, Peter Hampton, Alejandro Sabella, and Frank Worthington were among the numerous long-serving members of the cast, many of whom were well-liked and warmly remembered.
2-2 draw for Leeds United. Everton manager Bielsa said: “We controlled the game but gave up too many opportunities.”
Fast, furious, and incredible
The game itself was a fitting homage to those long-gone Revie stars, who were renowned for their biting as much as their brilliance.
It was quick, intense, and spectacular, with two teams vying for victory and not hesitant to put their foot down to achieve it.
Leeds was in desperate need of a win. The 5-1 thrashing at Manchester United last weekend had already sent nerves jangling among a fanbase prone to fear and all too acquainted with the tragedy that befell south Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United in their second Premier League season after a promising first.
Everton had a win under their belts from last weekend’s home triumph against Southampton, and they pushed ahead twice more in search of a second.
The home crowd was momentarily hushed by Dominic Calvert-VAR-awarded Lewin’s penalty before his celebration in front of the Kop drew ire.
After Mateusz Klich’s parity-restoring chipped finish, Man of the Match Demarai Gray hushed them again early in the second half, scoring cleanly to make it 2-1.
Raphinha, Leeds’ Brazilian striker, scored his third goal in three games against the Toffees, eliciting a raucous applause that will have rocked silverware throughout Beeston.
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