Andy Hinchcliffe was not impressed by one pass Willy Gnonto misplaced during the first-half as Leeds United beat Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night, with the Italian causing a promising attack to break down.
It was an eventful evening for Willy Gnonto. Daniel Farke made a big call to bring him back into the starting lineup ahead of Daniel James. Gnonto had been poor in the draw with Huddersfield earlier this month.
And one of the first things of note Gnonto did on Friday at Hillsborough was pass the ball straight out for a goal kick in the 16th minute. It came with Archie Gray making a brilliant run on the overlap.
Willy Gnonto criticised for misplaced pass in underwhelming first-half from Leeds
Had Gnonto found Gray with the ball, the 17-year-old would have had a simple task to whip the ball in. However, the forward got the pass all wrong.
And speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 8/3; 20:17), Andy Hinchcliffe did not hold back in his criticism of the 20-year-old.
“Just a little heavy? It was a dreadful pass. That’s a simple pass to make, inside Gassama, just into the path of Archie Gray. Just play a considered ball. You can see his reaction. Should be doing a lot better with that,” he said.
Whites able to go through the gears
Thankfully for Leeds, the mistake did not prove costly. The Whites would score in either of half, with Gnonto doubling the lead with a smart finish into the bottom corner.
He also made crucial intervention at the back post at 0-0 as the Owls got the ball across the six-yard box. And there were a few times when Gnonto and Gray did link up well.
At the time, it felt like a mistake which was going to sum up Leeds’ half. Unsurprisingly, we dominated the ball. And there were a couple of big chances. However, at the crucial moment, the quality was lacking.
Thankfully, a brilliant cross from Junior Firpo in stoppage-time gave Patrick Bamford an opportunity that he could not pass up, and Leeds had the lead.
But it really did feel like the goal came from nowhere.
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