Leeds 1-2 Wigan: Bielsa's men's promotion bid suffers huge blow vs 10 men Latics

Leeds ceded the advantage in the Championship’s automatic promotion race in spectacular circumstances after losing to the 10 men of relegation-threatened Wigan.

Despite being gifted the numerical advantage by the contentious decision by referee Scott Duncan to send off Cedric Kipre, the Yorkshire club could not capitalise over the next 75 minutes despite taking the lead soon afterwards.

Patrick Bamford’s goal, after Pablo Hernandez struck the woodwork from the penalty spot, appeared to be sending Leeds three points clear of rivals Sheffield United in their bid to end a 15-year Premier League exile via a top-two finish.

They ended an extraordinary afternoon in third place on goal difference, however, after Gavin Massey’s brace for a Wigan team with just one previous away win.

With a tough-looking tea-time trip to Brentford on Easter Monday followed by the arrival of in-form Aston Villa here next Saturday, Leeds recognised the importance of this fixture against a team trying to avoid a third demotion to the third tier in the space of five years.

By the final whistle, though, the party atmosphere had dissipated and Duncan had to clear objects from the Wigan penalty area as frustrations boiled over for supporters in the south stand.

In contrast, the contest had swung heavily in Leeds’ favour just shy of the quarter hour when a frantic attack culminated with a home penalty and Wigan’s Cedric Kipre being dismissed.

Leeds’ stand-in captain Luke Ayling’s mishit shot bobbled beyond the far post, from where Patrick Bamford applied a far superior connection only for Kipre to block on the goalline.

The 34,000 crowd appealed in unison for a goal, believing the ball had snuck over the line, but Duncan adjudged it had not and that Kipre had blocked it with the use of his arm, triggering a red card for the distraught defender. Kipre walked off, gesticulating that he had been struck in the chest, as video replays later supported.

In the absence of their regular penalty taker Kemar Roofe, Pablo Hernandez grabbed the ball. Back in February, Hernandez lost out in an on-field squabble that resulted in Bamford converting in a home victory over Bolton.

A miss in the meantime by Bamford against Millwall, however, saw duties revert to the Spaniard, who followed suit by striking the ball against the base of the post.

Not that the disappointment lingered long. Within a couple of minutes, the all-action Ayling threaded a pass into the stride of Bamford, who arrowed a right-foot shot beyond the outstretched Walton.

At that point, with Elland Road reverberating, it appeared an exercise in chipping away at promotion rivals United’s goal difference for Leeds.

Yet they were given a warning of Wigan’s threat on the break midway through the first half when Leon Clarke seized upon an anaemic back pass from Gaetano Berardi, and rounded the advancing Kiko Casilla, only for his chipped effort from 30 yards to drift wide as Leeds defenders scurried to cover.

Failure to heed it, proved costly as the undermanned visitors worked the ball into dangerous territory a minute shy of the interval and the unmarked Massey made good Lee Evans’ pass.

Bielsa’s half-time reaction was to shake things up, sacrificing the youth of Kalvin Phillips and Tyler Roberts for the more experienced duo of Adam Forshaw and Roofe.

Mateusz Klich rasped a half-volley over the angle as expectation morphed with anxiety. A posse of Leeds shots were repelled by Wigan bodies.

Then, what felt like a hammer blow as Clarke, the striker on loan from Sheffield United, headed down a raking cross from Nathan Byrne and Massey nodded in his second to stony silence.

Events had taken on an entirely different direction to those anticipated in pre-match when a light aircraft flew over head with a message which read ‘Bielsa is God.’

Suddenly, his team’s mortality was being felt against opponents with the lowest points return on the road in the division, and the disorientation revealed itself when Klich attempted to substitute himself with the ball still in play.

Bielsa’s team continued to press but could not beat Walton: Bamford’s effort was kicked away, Ezgjan Alioski saw a piledriver fisted back into play while Hernandez’s cultured finish was kept out via a fling to his right.

Leeds players sunk to the turf while the Wigan bench huddled in a celebration that suggested their drop fears were over.