Leeds United manager Javi Gracia
Phil Hay was surprised that Leeds United’s fourth goal on Saturday was allowed to stand.
The Lowdown: VAR decisions go Leeds’ way
Leeds will have been thanking the VAR officials on Saturday as some big decisions went their way in the form of Junior Firpo not being penalised for fouling Nelson Semedo in the box, while Michael Salisbury decided that Roca hadn’t fouled Traore prior to Rodrigo’s late strike despite being sent to the monitor.
The latter decision was unlikely to impact the game as it was so late on, as Leeds were already leading and Wolves were down to 10 men following Jonny’s shocking challenge on Luke Ayling.
No matter if Leeds were comfortable or not, the difference between staying up and begin relegated this season could well come down to goal difference, and if Leeds stay up by one goal, this incident could be what saves them.
The Latest: Roca appeared to foul Traore
Hay has admitted on The Phil Hay Show that he feels Roca intended to foul Traore in the build-up to Rodrigo’s goal and it probably shouldn’t have stood.
He said: “In the way that I was certain that VAR would send Jonny off, I thought VAR would rule that goal out, and I thought when the referee went to the screen, he would probably do the same.
“I don’t actually have a problem with the fact that he hasn’t – and I mean that from a neutral sense, I didn’t think it was a particularly physical pull on Traore and the ball was still there for him to have it – but it was an attempted foul, without a doubt.”
The Verdict: Leeds ride their luck in a crucial game
Despite the result, had some refereeing decisions not gone Leeds’ way, they could have easily dropped points against Wolves and been a lot closer to the relegation zone than they currently are.
However, a win is a win and Leeds certainly took their chances by scoring four goals from their four shots on target, which shows they are starting to discover a clinical and ruthless nature under Javi Gracia.
Something that does still need to be improved upon is their defensive side of the game, with the Whites having kept just one clean sheet under their Spanish coach, so if they have dreams of staying in the division, keeping the ball out of their own net would be a good place to start.
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