Noel Whelan reacts to Leeds’ comeback against Bristol City

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Leeds United’s winless run in the Championship continued but they staged a brilliant comeback in Paul Heckingbottom’s first game in charge at Elland Road.

Noel Whelan has provided his instant reaction to BBC Radio Leeds after Leeds came from 2-0 down to secure a hugely impressive point against Bristol City, and suggested that the Whites fans were to thank for the point.

Leeds got off to a terrible start at Elland Road. After an unconvincing punch in the opening stages, Felix Wiedwald had a second go at trying to deal with Hordur Magnusson’s long throws. However, the German, this time, got nowhere near the cross and Famara Diedhiou had the fairly simple task of tucking the ball into the corner for the game’s opener.

And the Whites seemed to go back to the self-destruct button that they have seemingly pressed several times in the last few weeks as Bobby Reid tapped in from close range to make the score 2-0 inside the first 16 minutes. Half-time was greeted with a chorus of boos from the home supporters.

Leeds gave themselves a glimmer of hope heading into the final 20 minutes as Pierre-Michel Lasogga continued his impressive run of form in front of goal in recent times with a close-range finish.

And the Whites sent Elland Road into a frenzy with Kemar Roofe coming off the bench to slide home to level the game up with 10 games to go. And there was late drama as Lasogga hit the bar with one of the last touches of the game. It was not to be, but the atmosphere at full-time was a complete contrast to how the fans responded to the half-time whistle.

And after the game, Noel Whelan took to BBC Radio Leeds to give his thoughts on the result that leaves Leeds 11th in the Championship table eight points off the play-off spots.

“First-half was absolutely woeful, shocking, as bad as I’ve seen. But second-half, you want a reaction, you wanted that half-time to come so the manager could have a team talk and they’ve come out a different animal,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“This is what infuriates me, the fact that we can play so badly for 45 but yet come back again and do all that hard work in the second-half and show everything that it means to wear the Leeds United shirt. But we need to do it for 90 minutes, we keep saying this. 45 minutes is not enough time to win a game of football.”

“If anyone takes credit for today’s performance, it’s the fans. They’re the ones who dragged it over the line.”