Dominic Calvert-Lewin issues honest verdict on Leeds United debut with 'give everything' promise
The free agent signing's first Leeds United minutes were overshadowed by a dismal Carabao Cup defeat at Hillsborough.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin insists he will continue to ‘give everything’ for Leeds United after a disappointing debut during Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
The August arrival got half an hour off the bench on Tuesday night as Leeds were eliminated by Championship strugglers Wednesday 3-0 on penalties, having drawn 1-1 over 90 minutes. Jayden Bogle cancelled out Karl Darlow’s own-goal late in the second-half but despite dominating possession, a much-changed Whites side were unable to show their superiority.
Calvert-Lewin had multiple chances to crown his debut with a goal but came up short each time, his most glaring miss coming from close-range after a deep free-kick found him in acres of space. The 28-year-old was then one of three Leeds players to miss his spot-kick as Wednesday scored all of theirs to enjoy a clean sweep victory in the shootout.
A disappointing night saw Leeds exit the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle for the second consecutive campaign under Daniel Farke, who admitted after full-time he felt embarrassed by the defeat. And while Calvert-Lewin was happy to get his first minutes in a Whites shirt, he also felt disappointed by the outcome.
In a message on Instagram, the former Everton striker wrote: “Very proud to make my debut for this great club tonight, but also disappointed with how it went. I came here to give everything and that’s what I will continue to do. Can’t wait to see you all at Elland Road.”
All eyes on Newcastle United after difficult defeat
Calvert-Lewin will hope for a much-improved performance, both individually and as a team, when Leeds host Newcastle United back in the Premier League on Saturday. The experienced striker has been without regular football since January and so will be expected to take some time in getting up to speed.
While a start on Saturday is unlikely, Calvert-Lewin will look to get more minutes under his belt after a full week of training, with Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe also available. Both started at Hillsborough, the latter as No.10, with Nmecha coming off just before the hour mark and Piroe also missing his spot-kick.
“Yes, it hurts, of course, because we were the favourites today,” Farke said after the defeat. “We are playing in the Premier League and we have travelled to an away ground at the Championship level and, of course, we are the favourites and want to go through into the next round. So, of course, the result hurts.
“You can feel for them [the Leeds fans] and sorry anyhow. We feel a bit embarrassed that we don’t in such a game and you can just say sorry anyhow because they made the trip and wanted to celebrate. Of course we would have wished to have given them a better outcome and also got into the next round.
“We would have liked to have got into the next round but the reality today is that we sadly missed too many chances.”