‘Electric’ - Leeds United praised after Cardiff City comeback as ‘phenomenal’ Whites star singled out

Former Leeds United striker Jermaine Beckford praised his old club for producing an ‘electric’ comeback as Daniel Farke’s men earned a point against Cardiff City.

The Whites were looking to make a positive start to their attempt to bounce back into the Premier League at the first attempt when they entertained the Bluebirds at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon - but it was the visitors that enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes as they took a two-goal lead into half-time after Josh Bowler and Ike Ugbo both found the net.

Leeds made a much-improved start to the second-half that was full of energy and intensity and soon put their visitors on the back foot. The reward came when Liam Cooper headed home just four minutes after the restart and the comeback was complete deep in injury-time when Crysencio Summerville fired past Jak Alnwick to earn what was a deserved point.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Beckford said: “When you’re going in at half-time and you’re two goals down at home, it’s a difficult situation to find yourself in.

“However, the start to the second-half was absolutely electric and it’s exactly what we want to see from Leeds United coming out of the tunnel and into the second-half. Look, two-nil down at home, you want to see a reaction and a reaction is what we saw. It’s just a shame Leeds couldn’t turn all of the possession and all of the opportunities they had in front of goal into more goals than just the two they had.”

Beckford singled out Whites youngster Archie Gray for special praise after the 17-year-old midfielder marked his senior debut with a performance that caught the eye. The Sky Sports pundit described the youngster as ‘a phenomenal player’ and praised Gray for playing with ‘maturity’ during an eventful 90 minutes at Elland Road.

He said: “I thought he was incredible. Watching him play, you forget about his age, you forget he’s only 17-years-old and when he first starting training with the first-team he was doing his GCSEs.

“He played with such maturity, he was so confident on the ball, he wasn’t rushed, he didn’t panic at all. Everything about his game today was absolutely spot-on and if today was anything to go by this kid has got such a bright future. He’s in the right place to learn. (He is) a phenomenal player.”

Leeds are back in action next Saturday afternoon when they travel to Birmingham City.