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Richard Gibson at Daily Mail |
Leeds (1) 1-1 (1) Fulham
Two stunning goals; one from a Leeds midfielder with a big future, the other from one they rejected for being too small in the past.
Teenager Lewis Cook, whose talents have drawn admiring glances from England's elite clubs, struck his first league goal at the 66th attempt, a 35-yard drive, after Tom Cairney, dumped at 16 by United for his lack of inches, volleyed past a motionless Marco Silvestri to give Fulham the lead at Elland Road.
'If it was in the Premier League it would be shown for the next five years,' said Leeds manager Steve Evans.
'I am blessed to work with him, he's a magnificent player.'
It meant both teams poor win ratios continued, and left them looking over their shoulders for the Championship run-ins.
However, Fulham, with just three victories since October, would have felt more aggrieved with their lot having created the majority of the chances in an entertaining contest.
For a Leeds team showing four changes - the absences of Giuseppe Bellusci, suspended after reaching 10 bookings, and Liam Bridcutt, absent to attend a family funeral, enforced - it is now just one win in 10 in the Championship.
Another of their former players Ross McCormack, who quit for Fulham in a £11million deal two years ago, was agonizingly close to giving the visitors the lead in the 13th minute, directing Cairney's cross towards the top corner only for Sol Bamba to deflect it onto the crossbar.
That was one of several opportunities before the break yet Leeds leveled through their first shot on target as Cook unleashed a howitzer to take visiting goalkeeper Andy Lonergan unawares.
Fulham should have doubled their advantage just 60 seconds after Cairney silenced the ground with his fourth goal in as many games - a precision effort after Leeds failed to clear - when Everton loanee Luke Garbutt got in behind the home defence.
However, Garbutt's effort lacked both power and direction and Silvestri clung on.
Then, after Bamba wastefully lifted over from a corner at the other end, Cairney's vision appeared to have created another far-post chance for McCormack, only for young full-back Lewie Coyle to make a crucial interception.
Seconds later, Garbutt's effort from outside the area was beaten away by Silvestri, and an inability to convert their dominance left Fulham susceptible to Cook's opportunism.
After the interval, it took a sublime Bamba tackle to dispossess Moussa Dembele in the process of shooting and Fulham's Frenchman believed he was deserving of a penalty when Toumani Diagouraga's challenge floored him in the area.
Yet Leeds substitute Stuart Dallas could have won it late on with his first touch, only to volley over, before Slavisa Jokanovic's frustration was compounded by the dismissal of defender Fernando Amorebieta in injury time for a deliberate handball, his second booking.
As it was a second booking, there is no right of appeal against a suspension and Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic moaned: 'This rule is very stupid.'
He added: 'I think we made enough chances to win the game but this is football and sometimes it happens.
'It was a good performance but we weren't clinical in important moments.
'I'm trying to make some progress and step by step we are starting to make things better.
'They scored a fantastic goal but in my opinion we played better football and came closer to winning three points.'
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