Leeds dominated the game from the start against a hapless Sheffield Wednesday, and at last there were signs of things starting to come together after a difficult start.
So it’s no surprise that Daniel Farke was feeling upbeat when he spoke to the BBC after the game. "It was definitely our best performance of the season - the perfect away performance. The goals we scored were fantastic. The first goal, you can put it in your album for best practice in possession football from the build-up to the finish.”
"I'm pretty happy for the boys because they made the next step forward. There's still much work to do, but under these circumstances, for this stage of the season, it was a mature performance and they definitely do deserve some compliments. We definitely need a few additions, but I'm pleased for the lads."
The manager made one change to the starting line-up, with Aaronson replacing Piroe in the attacking role just behind the striker, a far more natural position for him than being out on the wing. And he was far more lively than the lumbering Dutchman, with his late runs into the box supporting many of our attacks.
Farke was quite right to say that the squad was looking threadbare, with two goalkeepers making up the numbers on the bench as well as two teenagers. Wöber was officially out with a calf problem, though I thought his absence might have been down to his niggling complete lack of interest, amidst all the stories he might be leaving us for good late in the transfer window.
Bamford was also missing due to his latest injury, but once again Joseph proved to be the perfect stand-in. With him leading the line well, making space for others with his constant movement, and missing a very presentable chance, we might almost have forgotten that Bamford wasn’t playing.
There was one anxious moment early on when Musaba got the better of Bogle on the Wednesday’s left, but it didn’t take long for Leeds to start to get the better of our South Yorkshire friends. The first chance came from a header that Struijk sent narrowly wide. It was a much harder chance than it first appeared, as a slight deflection had sent James’ cross slightly behind him.
And it took only 24 minutes for Leeds to take a deserved lead, after another Wednesday attack broke down, and we came downfield much faster than they could get themselves into shape. James got a clever flick onto Bogle’s clearance, to set Aaronson away down the right. He found Gnonto inside, and for a second I was cursing Willy for not passing to the players in space to his left.
But his ball through to Joseph proved to be the right choice, even though Joseph was tackled as he ran at the defence, with Aaronson collecting and then sending a fine chip over Beadle into the net. We continued to enjoy the bulk of the possession for the rest of the half, in a strangely muted atmosphere and a stadium where the home stands were almost 10,000 fans below capacity.
And if the home side had come out for the second half with any ideas of getting back into the game, they were dented only three minutes after the restart. A superb ball from our own half by Joseph set James free, and he was always going to outpace the defender. At first I thought he’d scuffed the shot wide, but that was because I was looking at the keeper, who had dived outside the line of the ball.
In fact James’ chip was perfectly placed and well inside the far post, even if the timing was unfortunate for the fan behind the goal who had just got back to his seat with his half-time pie. Fair play to him for keeping hold of the crust as he tumbled to the floor, even though most of the contents sadly fell to the floor.
At the other end Wednesday produced their best chance of the game so far, with Bernad’s header going narrowly wide, although Meslier might have had it covered. Which caused my inner pessimist to think that we needed a third goal to kill the game off. And that might have come when Joseph did well to turn and make space for a shot, only to get underneath it and send the ball over the bar.
He did manage to get one on target a few minutes later, but on that occasion Beagle was right behind it. So Joseph remains without a goal in our three league games so far, but that didn’t stop Sky selecting him as their man of the match. And I needn’t have been worried, because Ampadu and Gruev were still working well at the heart of our midfield, to deny the Wendies any more clear opportunities no matter how hard they pressed.
So we completed our first win of the season, and will finish the weekend in sixth place if Swansea don’t win the South Wales derby today. If we’d claimed the win over Portsmouth that we should have had I would have said that we’d had a very good start, as getting a draw away to West Brom was perfectly acceptable in a difficult game.
But we’re still handily placed now, so if we can get those few additions that Farke is asking for…