Memories of a Leeds United striker forced to play the waiting game for goals

Kemar Roofe sent Twitter into a frenzy with the hashtag #Pray4Roofe after he was denied his first goal by the Anfield woodwork during the EFL Cup quarter-final match against Liverpool in November 2016.

The so close-yet-to-far-effort stretched his goal drought to 22 games following his move to Leeds United from Oxford United in the summer of 2016.

However the search for salvation ended within a week when he scored in the following game in front of the TV cameras against Aston Villa in a 2-0 victory under the Elland Road floodlights.

He would go to score 28 goals during his three seasons with the Whites including two hat-tricks - one against Newport County in the Carabao Cup at Elland Road and another in the Championship at QPR, United's last win in the capital.

He finished the 2018/2019 campaign as the club's top scorer in the Championship with 14. Notable strikes proved an injury time winner against Aston Villa away and then a brace in an unforgettable 3-2 injury time win against Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road just three days later.

Your YEP has been asking the Elland Road faithful to share memories of a Leeds United number seven.

Responses included:

Elliott Daniels (@Elliott_MOT) - "Never forget walking across to Elland Road ahead of the Blackburn game and saying to @bladenlufc 'A nice and simple 2-0 will do today, Villa Park nearly killed us off'. The rest as they say is history."

Dougie Walsh - "Villa goal."

Paul Allsop - "Derby first leg play-off semi-final. Pity he didn't make the next leg."

Darren Agus - "Aston Villa away where we losing but come back to win. Roofe with a shot inside the penalty box for the win."

Paul Blakemore - "Villa and Blackburn two late winners. Amazing scenes and Roofe propelled into folklore!"

David Dalton - "The goals against Derby at Pride Park."

Stephen Reynolds - "The dramatic last gasp winner against Blackburn on Boxing Day. The scenes in the stadium were off the scale."

Chris Cole - " Has to be Rovers at home scoring the two in injury time. My last trip from Australia with my Australian wife! She hadn’t experienced anything like it before!"

Shawn Ellis - "Villa away winning goal."

Benji Farkie - "Blackburn home on Boxing Day 2018 2-1 down in stoppage time Roofe scored an equaliser and then a header to win in the last seconds of game."

Darren Fleming (@papafleming) - "Blackburn 3-2 win Boxing Day. Had plans for after game so agreed to meet Mrs F outside ground couple of mins from end. Just left ground when he equalised and heard even louder roar two mins later. Made worse by fact Mrs F was stuck in traffic on way to ground so could have stayed!"

@OfficialChops- "Villa away, Blackburn at home over the Christmas period - late goals winning massive three points. His goal v Derby away in the playoff too. Sadly another thing he will be remembered for though is been injured at completely the wrong times, missing big important games. #RaiseTheRoofe"

Ste Waters - "I was in the 'staff' lift at The Doubletree Hilton with him. I used to cook for the team when they stayed there before home games, I said to him 'I'm gonna put a tenner on you to score at hat-trick'. He said "save your money mate" haha

Simon Meade - "QPR away. Hat-trick."

Dave Pearce - "Late winners against villa and Blackburn."

Simon Smith (@SimonSm57790946) - "Derby away 4-1 when it sank in that this team had already changed under Marcelo. Blackburn at home 3-2 and obviously Villa away 3-2."

Deanoooh 50 Shades of Ray (@deanoooh2020) - "For me it was the handball goal against Forest, was justice for them packing their area all game."

Phil Hardaker (@philjh1975) - "His second in the Derby game at the start of Bielsa’s reign, when he tied Keogh’s legs in knots. That’s when we knew we actually had a chance of doing something special."

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