Jermaine Beckford has told the Doing a Leeds podcast that the Elland Road pitch was ‘breaking up’ within five minutes of their clash against Leicester on Monday night.
The rain was relentless on the night, with the Foxes beating Leeds 4-1, and Beckford thinks that played a part in Leeds losing because it didn’t allow them to ‘dictate the game’ in the ‘high tempo’ they usually do.
What didn’t help Leeds’ cause is that they gifted Brendan Rodgers side with the first goal because of a defensive mistake, not forgetting Patrick Bamford missing an absolute sitter 30 seconds before.
Nonetheless, Beckford, who was at the game on Monday night, shared his thoughts on how the Elland Road pitch behaved that night.
“A big issue for us was the weather,” said Beckford. “I was at Elland Road and I got to watch it first hand to see how the players were coping with it.
“The pitch at Elland Road was breaking up within the first five to ten minutes. I could tell straight away it was going to rain all day.
“It wasn’t even raining [against Leicester] it was p***ing down. Honestly, it was bucketing down. So, with that in mind it was going to be difficult to dictate the game, especially at the high tempo we close them down and play at.”
From Leicester’s perspective, they will say that both teams had to play in those conditions, so it shouldn’t really be used as an excuse.
Either way, the scoreline did flatter Rodgers players even though they deserved to win because Leeds missed a number of big chances during crucial situations.
But that’s the ruthless nature of the Premier League compared to the Championship and how you can be punished in such a manner.
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