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Jesse Marsch says he will remember on his death bed the euphoria of Joe Gelhardt’s stoppage-time goal to give him his first victory as Leeds boss.
The 19-year-old match-winner was only introduced in the wake of Norwich’s 91st-minute equaliser and sent Elland Road into raptures when nicking three points in the fourth of six added minutes.
Marsch had seen his side relinquish the lead given to them by Rodrigo’s first-half strike when Norwich midfielder Kenny McLean finished from close-range to stun the home crowd.
Jesse Marsch says he will remember on his death bed the euphoria of Joe Gelhardt’s (pictured) stoppage-time goal
The 19-year-old match-winner was only introduced in the wake of Norwich’s 91st-minute equaliser
But Gelhardt’s goal raised the roof and puts Leeds four points clear of the bottom three on the back of six previous defeats.
‘I feel like I have played 96 minutes,’ reflected Marsch. ‘There were a lot of emotions in the late stages.
‘I have heard a lot about the magic of Elland Road, and that was an incredible experience.
‘On my death bed I’ll reflect on this day. It was certainly a special moment in my career and for all of us.
‘I am just pleased for the entire club and the city. I am new here and I am trying to bring my vision and we’ll get there, I know we will.
‘The points are big but the moment is even bigger.’
Leeds new boss Marsch (pictured) says he will reflect on this day on his death bed
Marsch had demanded a response from his players after they were booed at the end of both halves during Thursday’s 3-0 home defeat by Aston Villa – and the American believes he got that reaction.
‘What I will take away most is that the performance was strong,’ he added. ‘We were more aggressive from the start and able to bring the crowd into it, rather than being too passive so they have nothing to get behind.
But there is still a lot of work to do.’ The winning goal was Gelhardt’s first at Elland Road since joining from Wigan 18 months ago.
Gelhardt’s late winner sent Elland Road into raptures as they sealed a first win under Marsch
He out-jumped defender Ben Gibson to free Raphinha before getting on the end of the Brazilian’s pull-back.
Marsch said: ‘I asked him to play in the No.10 role and be aggressive and join in as a second striker.
‘We knew we had to play some longer balls and he got up and battled for an aerial duel.
‘It allowed us to pick up the second ball with Raphinha in an attacking position. He pulls it back and Joe is there.
‘I saw the looks on faces (after Norwich’s equaliser) and they weren’t catastrophic. They were like, “We’re gonna keep going”. As soon as we conceded I knew I had to bring Joe on.
‘He will never forget that moment. He is a brave young man with quality.’
Norwich boss Dean Smith, meanwhile, bemoaned Stuart Attwell’s decision to overturn a second-half penalty when Milot Rashica went down under a challenge from Luke Ayling.
Norwich boss Dean Smith (pictured) bemoaned Stuart Attwell’s decision to overturn a second-half penalty
VAR instructed Attwell to check the pitchside monitor after replays showed the Norwich winger had stepped on Ayling’s leg.
Smith, whose side are bottom and five points from safety, said: ‘As soon as the ref goes over (to the monitor) you know. But is it a clear and obvious error? I don’t know – that changes from week to week.
‘If Ayling’s leg is not there then Milot puts his foot down and shoots. We should leave subjective decisions to onfield referees.
VAR should be about black and white.’ Of the performance, he added: ‘They were better in the first half.
‘We were better in the second half. But we can’t string two halves together with a consistent performance. We are where we are because of both boxes.’
Source: DailyMail Sports
