Matt Kilgallon has told BBC Radio Leeds that he was surprised by Michael Skubala‘s decision to take Jack Harrison off during Leeds United’s defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.
Leeds suffered an agonising loss at Elland Road against Erik ten Hag’s side. The two goals came late on for the visitors. And the Whites are once again ruing missed chances when they were on top.
Skubala has done brilliantly in the days since he was put in interim charge of the side. However, his substitutions on Sunday did not appear to do the team many favours.
Kilgallon surprised by Harrison substitution in Leeds loss
Georginio Rutter replaced Patrick Bamford before the hour mark. And Rutter did not have the best time. Meanwhile, Brenden Aaronson was unable to replicate his bright cameo in midweek.
Aaronson came on for Harrison with 17 minutes remaining. Harrison had enjoyed a really good showing up until that point. He was superb as the number 10, playing just behind Bamford.
He seemed to be marshalling the forward line when they were working out when to press. And he made things happen, even if his final ball was a little off once again.
Certainly, Kilgallon suggested that Skubala’s decision to take him off caught him off-guard.
“I was quite surprised when Harrison came off to be honest because I thought he was driving the lads up the pitch, wasn’t he, with his runs,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“He was taking the ball really nicely and working hard. He didn’t look tired. Didn’t look like he had a knock. So I was quite surprised when he came off.”
The difficulty for Skubala was that it was always going to be tough to decide who to take off. Bamford had already come off for Rutter.
Meanwhile, Crysencio Summerville was outstanding. And of course, replacing Willy Gnonto would have been a real gamble given what he has achieved.
It was a quiet day for Gnonto. But he also started to threaten to make something happen in the final stages of the game.
Harrison was not as influential in the second-half. And the game needed fresh legs at that stage. Despite the work in the January window, there was a lack of quality to come off the bench on Sunday. So bringing Aaronson on made a lot of sense.
In hindsight however, replacing Harrison proved to be an error.
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