Patrick Bamford misses sitter of the season to heighten Leeds relegation fears

Leeds were forced to settle for a draw against Leicester in the Premier League on Tuesday night after Patrick Bamford was guilty of missing an open goal late on

Patrick Bamford missed a sitter for Leeds vs Leicester (

Image: BT Sport)

Patrick Bamford spurned a magnificent chance to pull Leeds further clear of the Premier League relegation zone in the closing stages against Leicester on Tuesday night.

Leeds were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation rivals Leicester at Elland Road after Jamie Vardy came off the bench to equalise for the away side. Luis Sinisterra put Leeds ahead after 20 minutes before Vardy finished from James Maddion’s pass in the 80th minute.

Bamford had a golden chance to put the home team back in front but somehow failed to hit the target from a few yards out. After an inswinging corner was flicked on at the near post, he found himself unmarked inside the six-yard box, but could only send his side-footed effort wide.

“Leeds should have three points. You can’t emphasise how big that moment was for Patrick Bamford, he looks like he’s lacking in confidence,” former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Moments like that define your season.”

Michael Owen was similarly disbelieving at the miss. “I can’t believe how Leeds didn’t score with that passage of play from the corner,” he said on BT Sport. “It was a decent game, but it doesn’t really help either side.”

Ex-Leicester midfielder Robbie Savage added on BT Sport: “Bamford tries, and has had a fantastic career, but in the Premier League, Leeds need to find a 20-goal-a-season striker. They are hard to find, but look at the attacking talent of Leicester.”

Patrick Bamford put his effort wide (

Image:

BT Sport)

The draw ended a run of three straight defeats for Leeds, who had been beaten by Fulham, Liverpool and Crystal Palace in recent weeks. It leaves them in 16th place – two points above the relegation zone – while Leicester are a point behind in 17th.

“I felt like we dominated,” Leicester’s Maddison told BT Sport. “We started well, they scored when we were on top. They had that chance where Bamford should score at the back post, but I thought we dominated. We could have won the game, but I’ve just said ‘it’s important you don’t lose’.”

Vardy added: “It could be massive. We have five cup finals left. We’ll enjoy the point tonight then get back in and recover.

Patrick Bamford was guilty of a poor miss (

Image:

Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

“We were on top. Patson [Daka] came on as well so we had extra pace up there. We wanted to stretch them to get that space. We did it at the end. Luckily I was there to put it in.

“The gaffer has come in and every manager has their tactics but it comes down to defending one box and attacking the other. We have to keep working. I probably can’t say what I want to say on TV because I’ll get done but it’s been a weird season for me. Hopefully the goals keep coming.”

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Wolves beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to move up to 13th place. Joachim Anderson’s own goal and Ruben Neves’ penalty secured the important win.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 to move up to fifth place and continue their form under Unai Emery. Tyrone Mings scored the game’s only goal at Villa Park.