Leeds United report: Brisbane Roar as Joe Gelhardt shines in the opening victory of Australian tour

Leeds United report: Whites are too powerful to Brisbane Roar as Joe Gelhardt shines in the opening victory of Australian tour

Leeds United started their Australian tour with an exciting but, at times, unconvincing win of 2-1 against Brisbane Roar at Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland.

Jesse Marsch’s team has recruited six new players in the last few weeks, and their recruits were all part of the team who traveled Down Under on Sunday.

With only a few days to get used to the new surroundings, Leeds faces a busy schedule, with them playing Brisbane first, followed by matches against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

However, they showed no evidence of fatigue in their first game of the season—an impressive beginning in Brisbane. One of their recent players, Brenden Aaronson, had the ball on the goal line after only 19 seconds.

Read | Tottenham Vs K-League XI: How To Watch On TV and Online?

Unfortunately for Leeds and the American Leeds, the ball was rejected by a flag of a linesman.

The Whites wearing their uniforms for the first time continued to pressure their adversaries. While their hosts were seated in deep, it only seemed to be a matter of time until the breakthrough occurred.

Jesse Marsch’s team didn’t have much time to wait to score the opening goal. That came after 23 minutes when skipper-for-the-night, Adam Forshaw, worked the ball wide to Daniel James, and he arrowed a powerful low drive into the net.

A minute later, Leeds increased their lead when Joe Gelhardt – chosen to take the information – soaringly hit the ball home on the back of the post following James, whose crossed ball was smashed.

Related | Women’s Euro: Lego Group teams up 2022 Fan Festival

Aaronson played off the left side of the attack, causing problems for the hosts’ defense.

Then, Roar brought themselves back to the match 5 minutes before the timeout after Joe Knowles scored to make it a 2-2.
There are chances for Brisbane to level the playing field against Leeds

Leeds had made a solid start to the second period and put the pressure on the hosts when Darko Gyabi clipped a ball into the mix and nearly set up to score a goal that was not his.

Cody Drameh then advanced into shooting range, only to have his shot blocked by a wall and then spin to a corner.

Read | Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur makes more history for Arab women to enter a Grand Slam singles semis at Wimbledon

Gelhardt displayed his skill by weaving and jinking before making a left-footed move that sailed over the post to the left.

25' Goal #LUFC! Two goals in two minutes! Gelhardt doubles the lead! 0-2 pic.twitter.com/KxJ6R2Xk75

— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 14, 2022

But Roar was almost level in the first half when they took Leeds apart. The cutback was a slam on Jay O’Shea, who drew the attention of Kristoffer Claesson.

Luke Ivanovic, who was a substitute, slipped in the middle of Leeds United’s defense, but his attempt was unsuccessful, and Claesson did not give up easily.

However, Leeds continued to exert pressure, as replacement Patrick Bamford saw a header miss the target after excellent play by Gyabi And Sam Greenwood.

Bamford had a shot turnaround to create an angle in the closing moments, but Jez Lofthouse made a mistake in a critical moment to draw the game level.

Don’t Miss | Former Gillingham striker Dave Shearer dies at the age of 63 (1958 – 2022)

After a backheel took Claesson out of the frame, He failed twice to keep the ball in play with the goal in his hands and allowed Leeds to clear their lines.

And there were to be no more chances as Leeds could secure a win 2-1.

First half Leeds side (4-2-3-1): Klaesson; Kristensen, Koch, Struijk, Harrison; Roca, Forshaw; James, Rodrigo, Aaronson, Gelhardt.

Second half Leeds side (4-2-3-1): Klaesson; Drameh, Koch, Struijk, Davis; Adams, Klich; Gyabi, Greenwood, Sinisterra; Gelhardt.