Leeds United's Joe Gelhardt makes crucial Sunderland impact but setback for Whites defender

Gelhardt is on loan at Championship side Sunderland for the rest of the season and the 20-year-old continued his run of starting every league game since his arrival when lining up in Sunday’s Championship clash at Norwich City.

After 15 minutes, Gelhardt bagged his second Black Cats assist as he received possession centrally midway up the Canaries half and fed Abdoullah Ba who took a couple of touches before firing home a terrific strike from 20 yards out that flew into the bottom right corner.

Gelhardt was then presented with a fine chance to double Sunderland’s lead when played through one-on-one but his attempt to finish was saved by Canaries keeper Angus Gunn. Gelhardt was eventually taken off in the 79th minute but Ba’s first half strike for which Gelhardt provided the assist proved decisive as the Black Cats recorded a 1-0 victory that sent them tenth.

In Saturday’s action, two young defenders excelled for an impressive Whites Championship double. Charlie Cresswell continued his strong recent run by playing another full match for Millwall in their 1-0 win at Reading. Fellow Whites loanee Jamie Shackleton was an unused substitute for the Lions. Cody Drameh also played the full 90 minutes for Luton Town who enjoyed a 1-0 success at highflying Sheffield United.

But there was a setback for young Leeds defender Leo Hjelde who started for Rotherham United at Birmingham City but was taken off at half-time as the Millers suffered a a 2-0 defeat. Elsewhere, Ian Poveda was not involved for Blackpool as the Tangerines suffered a 2-0 reverse at Bristol City.

In League One, Lewis Bate started for Oxford United and played 77 minutes of a 3-2 defeat at home to Derby County. In League Two, Alfie McCalmont started for Carlisle United at Swindon Town and played 69 minutes of a 2-1 victory in which former Whites striker Ryan Edmondson came off the bench to bag a 96th-minute winner.