Norwell's Patrick Bamford nets 100th goal as Leeds United beat Crystal Palace 2-0
Patrick Bamford scored his 100th professional goal on Sunday as Leeds United beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Elland Road.
The striker, who is third in the Premier League’s golden boot race, said it was nice to hit the major milestone.
“The most important thing is getting the three points but it is nice to get to 100 career goals,” said Bamford, during his post-match interview with Sky Sports.
“It is probably long overdue but it was nice to get there.
“After I missed that one in the first half, I was kicking myself, so I am glad I scored.”
The 27 year old’s goals includes 21 while on loan at MK Dons, eight on loan with Championship side Derby, 33 with Middlesbrough and 38 with his current side, Leeds.
The forward, from Norwell, also mounted further pressure on England manager Gareth Southgate, who has a selection dilemma ahead of the first round of World Cup Qualifiers at the end of March.
Bamford said it would be interesting to see who would be called upon by the England boss.
“It is good if you are getting talked about, but there are four or five strikers who have not really been involved with England before and they are doing well,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see who does get called up and whoever does will fully deserve it.”
Bamford has featured for England’s under-18s, under-19s and under-21s, but is yet to receive a senior call up.
The striker also addressed Leeds’ future after a strong first half to the season.
“After being out of the league for 16 years it is important for a club like Leeds to get a footing and build from that,” Bamford said.
“I think we have outdone ourselves coming up, to be honest.
“We took a lot of teams by surprise, but it is no more than we’ve deserved.
“In some patches of the season we have been brilliant and in some patches we have let ourselves down as well, so it is about finding that consistency.
“But it bodes well for the future of Leeds.”
Leeds are tenth in the table on 32 points, one point ahead of Arsenal, who they face on Sunday.
In the reverse fixture, they played out a 0-0 draw.
