Daniel Farke has claimed that Leeds bossed the game on Friday night. Sheffield Wednesday had their share of possession other than in the the early part of the second half, but we always carried the greater threat going forward, and that was the factor that decided this game.
Our manager told BBC Radio Leeds "It was a well-deserved win. It was a controlled performance. You could feel that they were on a good run, they played with confidence. They're always dangerous on the counter-attack and set-pieces but we had so much control over the game, especially in the first half.”
"Perhaps in the first half we allowed them to have a few too many corners. That's the only point I can criticise. It was a great cross from Junior Firpo and a perfect strike from Patrick Bamford. In the second half we were very much in control and scored the second goal. We should have perhaps scored a third.
"They didn't really have one chance and it was a very controlled performance, especially keeping in mind it was our fourth game in 10 days." But I’m not sure that the Wednesday fans would agree with the last part, when actually they did create two very good chances, one in each half.
After the hectic programme we’d had in the past few weeks Farke decided to make three changes to his starting line-up, rotating his players in the positions where we have a lot of good options to try to keep his team as fresh as possible. Doubtless he knew that this was going to be a tough game despite Wednesday's position in the table, given their recent improvement under Danny Röhl.
The first half was an even contest, and I feared that it could be another of those away game where we end up losing after conceding one goal and then being unable to break down a stubborn defence. A lot was going to depend on who got the first goal, and it could easily have been the home side.
A corner was played forward to find Gassama right in front of goal, but Illan Meslier reacted in time to get his leg in the way, and the ball was deflected wide of the post. Our best chance early on came from Ampadu’s long ball through to Rutter, who didn’t quite get enough height on his chip and the advancing Beadle was able to make the save. By then the defence had had time to get back and block Rutter’s effort on the follow-up.
Just when we thought we were going in level at half time, Leeds managed to grab a goal deep into injury time. So deep in fact that Röhl would moan about it being 11 seconds beyond the extra four minutes that had been announced. But no referee since Clive Thomas has ever blown exactly on the dot of the allocated time, and there had been some minor delays since the injury time had begun.
Gnonto fed Firpo to his left, and Firpo curled a great cross to just beyond the far post, where Bamford was able to stick out his right foot to guide the ball home, before cupping his ears to the home fans behind the goal who had been giving him a bit of grief. And he certainly wasn’t offside, despite the protests of the defender who should have been tracking his run.
The goal seemed to change the complexion of the game, as we began to run them ragged in the early part of the second half. Rutter beat a couple of defenders as he came in from the goal line before trying a clever shot on the turn, but Beadle got down to make the save even though he would have seen it late as the ball came through a defender’s legs.
The second goal arrived in the 58th minute, after a superb move that began with a ball forward which found Bamford with his back to goal. He held off the defender behind him while laying it off to Rutter, and the Frenchman flicked the ball first time into the path of Gnonto. His finish was excellent, firing the ball past the advancing Beadle into the far corner of the net.
We should have put the game to bed when Gnonto slipped a perfectly timed ball into the area while Summerville’s run beat the offside trap, but unfortunately his first-time shot was too close to Beadle, and the keeper was able to make the save. It might have been better to try to lift the ball over Beadle or go round him, and this was a moment we would have harked back to if we hadn’t won the game.
After that let-off the home side came back into the game, and they were close to getting the goal which would have made the closing stages rather stressful. Meslier couldn’t hold Gassama’s shot from distance as it bounced awkwardly in front of him, and Ampadu had to race back and clear off the line after Smith had pounced on the rebound.
Farke used his five substitutes at various stages during the final ten minutes to freshen things up as we tried to see the game out, and although the home side forced a few corners, we were able to hold on and complete our eleventh win in the last twelve games.
Despite the chants at the end that Wednesday are going down, their performance had enough promise to suggest they could well catch at least two of the teams in the tightly packed area of the table above them, and hopefully they will get at least a point from their visit to Portman Road next week.
And speaking of Ipswich, it was hilarious to see Cardiff come from behind to beat them in injury time, while Leicester could only draw at Hull. So unlike our midweek victory, this time we were able to gain on our rivals, going back above Ipswich and the three points behind Leicester. And now that we’ve got through this busy period almost unscathed, the squad must now be feeling they can outpace the other teams in the final stage of the season to seal promotion.