Middlesbrough 0-1 Leeds United: Dirty

Ao Tanaka’s tears on the pitch at full-time summed up Leeds’ 1-0 win at the Riverside. Daniel Farke told the press after the match that he’d asked Tanaka why he was crying, to which he responded: “I don’t know, boss, I am just so empty.”

Nobody said it was going to be easy, but it will be exciting and probably exhausting. Watching Leeds United fight for promotion is like sitting in the passenger seat of your crazy mate’s Seat Ibiza. He wants to show you how fast he can go, but you just want to make it to the McDonald’s drive thru.

After three lethargic away performances on the trot, Dan James and Manor Solomon combined in the third minute to give Leeds exactly what they needed; an early goal. Junior Firpo received Ethan Ampadu’s pass into midfield and immediately played Manor Solomon in behind the Boro defence. It’s a move that has worked several times this season, playing one of the wingers in behind so they can fizz the ball across the box for the other one to score.

Solomon crossed low and hard, and James used physics to do the rest. He’s so quick that he had no option but to simply allow his momentum to bundle himself and the ball into the goal. Taking the lead after three minutes is the perfect start and Leeds’ imperious form when scoring first certainly boosted everyone’s confidence as the players searched for a second throughout a frenetic first half.

We really should be talking about an emphatic 3-0 victory for Leeds, but we’re not because, once again, officiating has let us down. Another dangerous Solomon cross found Tanaka at the back post to tap in and he made it 2-0 just after the half hour, or so he thought. Linesman Darren Williams flagged for offside, despite Tanaka being clearly played on by two Boro defenders. The same Williams disallowed perfectly good Leeds goals scored by Willy Gnonto (v Coventry) and Joel Piroe (v Millwall) earlier this season. While some online might argue there’s a pattern tantamount to conspiracy here, it’s very possible and much more likely that it’s just incompetence.

The same happened again in the second half when substitute Isaac Schmidt launched a counter-attack. Gnonto played in Patrick Bamford, who finished impeccably, but the flag went up again. This time it was the other linesman, Shaun Hudson, who had also flagged incorrectly as replays showed that Bamford was onside. What should have been a routine Leeds win descended into a battle of wills in the final fifteen minutes, through no fault of the Leeds players.

Results came in from the other Championship matches just as Leeds began to sit deep and ensure their match reached a dramatic crescendo. Sheffield United had lost 1-0 at home to Millwall. Goodness me. Burnley drew 0-0 at Derby. The Championship was, indeed, Championship-ing. Undeterred by the pressure and unhelpful officiating, Leeds dug in and ground out a dirty 1-0 win, defending heroically and pragmatically to return to the top of the league.

We knew that this Leeds team could swashbuckle their way through most of the season, but that approach isn’t likely to get them over the line in the final mile of this marathon Championship season. Against Boro, they showed a grit and determination that had eluded them in their last three away matches, perhaps aided by scoring early and, more importantly, first.

Farke’s hand was forced by the injury to Pascal Struijk, but Ilia Gruev’s solid performance in midfield gave Leeds an element of calm on a night that was anything but. Brenden Aaronson threatened to damage Boro’s defence in the first half without delivering a hammer blow, but his influence waned after half-time as the home side took control of the match. Farke’s subs impacted the match positively and we should really be talking about a sweeping Leeds counter-attack that involved three subs – Schmidt, Gnonto and Bamford – being the moment that killed the match off.

Bamford’s twenty-minute cameo showed that, when fit, he can still be the forward Leeds need, a timely reminder as Joel Piroe’s goalless run stretches to eight matches. A sliding tackle deep into injury time from Bamford proved to be the symbolic moment that definitively ended Boro’s hopes of scoring, a sure sign that Leeds weren’t leaving ‘North Yorkshire’ without three points.

Schmidt also impressed on the right wing, a comforting sight as Dan James hobbled off with a hamstring injury. That the match ended with Schmidt pirouetting on his arse with the ball between his legs served to remind us just how long a Championship season is. Leeds have used 27 different players in league matches this season, even though Farke seems wedded to the same players week in, week out. He has turned to his bench in search of solutions in these past three matches and should continue to do so as the intensity ramps up from here. Farke even brought Joss Guilavogui on in the final minutes to see out the win. And that he did, the calming presence of experience helping Leeds see it out.

There’s a lot to be said for experience in moments like this and Karl Darlow – who is only three weeks younger than Guilavogui – provided some himself. As the ball floated into the Leeds six-yard box in the 93rd minute, Darlow rose above everyone to catch it and landed with it still in his careful embrace. That simple catch capped off another solid, confident and pleasingly normal performance from a Leeds goalkeeper, a pattern that we pray will continue for another few weeks.

If this promotion battle can reduce Ao Tanaka to tears, most Leeds United fans can be forgiven for their own rollercoaster of emotions in recent weeks. I went to bed on Tuesday night shattered from the thrilling, nervous ride that this match offered up, but I slept soundly knowing that Leeds can win dirty when they want to, and hopefully when they need to in these final five matches.

(Photograph by Action Plus Sports Images, via Alamy)