Graham Smyth has revealed what Patrick Bamford did after Leeds United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the Championship play-off final on Sunday (26 May).
The 30-year-old striker was not involved in the matchday squad, sidelined through a knee injury as the Whites were unable to secure promotion to the Premier League at Wembley.
Daniel Farke’s team clearly missed him as Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter failed to hit the back of the net, while Crysencio Summerville was hooked with 15 minutes remaining.
Writing via the Yorkshire Evening Post on Monday (27 May), Smyth said: “Patrick Bamford walking into the Southampton half of the pitch to shake the hands of all the Saints’ staff.”
Patrick Bamford’s touch of class as Leeds United taste defeat v Southampton
Bamford will have suffered heartbreak with Leeds on many occasions during his six-season spell at Elland Road, most of all facing relegation from the Premier League last season.
Having hit a purple patch under Farke this season, it seemed as though the forward had finally re-established himself in the starting XI before sustaining an injury against Middlesbrough in April.
That coincided with a huge dip in form for Leeds, who fell out of the top two Championship spots, missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season.
Losing all three meetings to the Saints will also be a hard pill to swallow, having finished above them in the Championship table before being pipped to promotion at the final hurdle.
It is uncertain what Bamford’s future looks like now, especially with the club needing to raise funds this summer, and other clubs could be looking to poach him for his experience and quality on the ball.
While all the players were devastated after the 1-0 loss at Wembley, it was a nice touch to see Bamford head over to the Southampton staff at full-time, knowing exactly how hard they have worked this season.
In other Leeds news, one transfer-linked star was spotted at Wembley in new fan footage.
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