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The beach balls were out and so was half of Leeds United’s team. In the last home game of the season, Sebastiaan Bornauw was playing his first ninety minutes in the Premier League at Elland Road. The bench was filled by kids yet to make their debuts. And by the end of the game, Leeds were operating with Wilf Gnonto at right-back and Joel Piroe at right midfield.
There was no need for Leeds to win this game and that was as good a reason as any. The whole afternoon was a microcosm of the campaign, the weather oscillating between autumn, winter, spring and summer all in the space of a few hours, 93 minutes of patient resilience followed by the sweet release of jubilation and a chance to celebrate every member of this team for one last time. Hello, goodbye, United are back!
Of those 93 preceding minutes, I can’t remember a great deal. The sparse notes I made on my phone reflect a care free afternoon that, in the case of Samu Saiz’s name being sung from the South Stand, provided a stark contrast to the last time Leeds ended a Premier League season at Elland Road and the last time I heard that chant — on the day relegation was confirmed under Sam Allardyce against Tottenham.
Facing a Brighton team that went into the game with an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League, Leeds’ backs were against the wall of their own penalty area for much of the match. The visitors dominated possession but struggled to create many clear cut chances, the best of which falling to defender Paul van Hecke after Karl Darlow saved a “nasty” swerving shot from Pascal Gross that was knocked back into the six-yard box with Darlow still on the ground, only for Van Hecke to divert his header over the bar.
Brighton’s assertion only gave Leeds the chance to display their best defensive characteristics, led superbly, as always, by Ethan Ampadu, sprinting back to thwart a counter-attack after Ao Tanaka sold Dan James short with a pass and later blocking a goal-bound shot from Danny Welbeck on the line. With Ampadu in front of them and Darlow behind them for protection, Leeds’ backline relished the dirty work to keep their sheet clean. Jaka Bijol remained the rock in the middle, while Bornauw’s late-season cameo as the left centre-back has been a pleasant reassurance, avoiding the organisational chaos of Stamford Bridge in February and allowing Joe Rodon to keep marauding forward from the right of the back three. Big Joe was as responsible as any other Leeds player in dragging his team up the pitch, like Bill Ayling with a perma-scowl.
Dan James may still be learning the positional awareness of the wing-back role but was brighter going forward, more eagerly attacking his opposite number and popping up in central areas to hit a left-footed shot that deflected narrowly wide and a half-volley after a long throw was half-cleared that was heading for the net only to hit Lewis Dunk. Shortly before half-time, Leeds almost went in front in farcical circumstances as a counter-attack led by Dominic Calvert-Lewin was cleared onto Dunk’s chest and towards the top corner, Bart Verbruggen clawing the ball away from goal and out of play.
Come the second half, the toil of a hard season was beginning to take its toll. Farke turned to his bench on the hour mark with a triple substitution, introducing the energy of Gnonto, Sean Longstaff and Lukas Nmecha for James, Tanaka and Brenden Aaronson, the latter struggling with a knock. Shortly afterwards, Anton Stach tried to battle through his own injury that eventually required him to be stretchered off and sent to hospital for checks on an ankle that was seeping blood through his sock, the rest of his legs covered in cuts and bruises.
Stach was replaced by Joel Piroe, whose first touch in likely his last appearance at Elland Road almost resulted in him bending the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box, while Brighton brought on our old pal Georginio Rutter, who hit a couple of weak attempts towards goal without going full Jermaine Beckford against his former club.
Brighton might have been better off with the belligerence of James Milner, who remained unused on the bench, leaving Farke to bring on the boy who came back, Sam Byram, for a stoppage-time cameo. As ever, Byram diligently followed his manager’s instructions, mimicking Farke’s point down the line by knocking an innocuous pass into the path of Nmecha, who almost gave up the chase as Van Hecke got their first and passed back towards Verbruggen. Thankfully, Calvert-Lewin stayed alert. Van Hecke’s pass was underhit, and Calvert-Lewin sprinted between Dunk and Verbruggen to beat both to the ball, nudging it around the goalkeeper and calmly finishing into the empty net while being clattered by Dunk. As the rest of the attack joined the shirtless Calvert-Lewin in front of the Kop, the defence mobbed Byram, who was soon being credited with an assist by his best mate and fellow “Chuckle Brother” Alex Cairns.
In what was previously earmarked as a potentially nerve-shredding final day at West Ham, Leeds will now be returning to the capital looking forward, not just up the league table but into the promise of next season. Elland Road is going to look different and so will the team, but the future can wait just a little while longer. There’s one last chance to celebrate and savour the squad that has brought United back. As the captain told Bryn Law at pitchside, “There might not be a bus to celebrate — but I’ll find a traffic cone somewhere.” ⬢
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