Leeds were twice behind in this incredible game at Swansea City, and then seemed to have victory snatched away right at the death. But each time we fought back and our sheer determination finally secured the victory that we needed to finish the weekend on top of the Championship.
I spent most of yesterday sheltering from the storm to watch my sport on TV, starting with Sheffield United’s two dropped points, which owed much to the antics of Coventry’s Bassette in getting an opponent sent off. Then at 5 I switched my phone on and saw a scoreline of 1-0 to Sunderland, so I thought they’d won. But closer inspection revealed that game had been suspended, and when it restarted Millwall had time to score a late equaliser.
All of which meant that for the first time this season we kicked off knowing that a win would definitely take us to the top of the table. By then the weather had improved in some parts of the country but not in South Wales. Not only did some of our fans have a difficult journey down there, but it was still tipping down with rain at the start of the game.
Daniel Farke had made two changes, with Gnonto and Joseph rested after being on international duty in midweek, so Solomon and Piroe got the nod instead. And Leeds made a lively start, while Swansea weren’t looking over-confident playing out from the back. And we even came close to scoring from a corner, but Rodon’s knock-down bounced just before James connected with it, so he couldn’t keep his shot down.
But on seven minutes Swansea took the lead from a free kick we would have moaned about endlessly if we’d lost the game, as Tanaka got a touch on the ball before his opponent ran into him and fell over. But we should have defended it better, as Darling was able to run though unchallenged, and guide the ball past Meslier into the corner of the net.
As we tried to get back into the game Swansea began to retreat to protect their lead, and I wondered if it would be another of those games, when we struggled to break down what they now call a ‘low block’. Not a bit of it, for once we managed to repeatedly get in behind an opposition defence, and the passing was slick enough to pick out the right players at the right time.
On 20 minutes Tanaka won the ball on the halfway line and sent James down the right, and although he could have taken the shot, he unselfishly decided the better option was to cross for our Israeli international to score from close range. It looked like it could have been offside, but the wisdom of Solomon had him timing his run to perfection, as he was behind the ball when it was played.
In fact all four of our goals had a whiff of offside, but on all four occasions the TV replay showed they weren’t, so clearly the Swansea offside trap needs a lot of work! For most of the rest of the half we had the better of the game, but when another chance came to Solomon, he couldn’t quite adjust his feet in time to get any power into his shot.
But just before half time it was Swansea who broke through to score, after Struijk was dispossessed in midfield. For a second I thought there was no danger as Meslier had the shot covered, but he seemed to go down too slowly as the ball bounced in off the post. Only later could I see the TV replay, which showed the ball taking a slight deflection off Bogle, to take it out of reach of our keeper.
So at half time I thought it was going to be another of those frustrating games, and that Burnley must be thinking that they would have by far the best weekend of any of the leading clubs in the division. But once again Leeds battled back from adversity, and soon were putting the hosts under pressure again.
I was soon cursing Bogle (not for the last time) as he attempted a shot from a narrow angle and sent the ball over the bar. You’re not going to score from there if your name isn’t Van Basten, and the better option would have been a simpler ball to Piroe in the centre. Then James sent a left footed shot over the bar, but our second equaliser came in the 55th minute.
Again it came from a James run down the right and a low cross, and this time Cabango slid in to intercept it, but could only divert the ball into his own net. The defender had no choice but to go for the ball, otherwise Piroe would have had a tap-in behind him. Then on 73 minutes we took the lead, this time with a move down the left.
Struijk’s through ball found Byram racing forward, and Solomon was on hand to score his second of the game. That was his last contribution, as Farke had already decided to freshen up the front line, and went ahead with the changes despite the goal. Solomon and Piroe made way for Gnonto and Joseph.
The Leeds end broke into a chant of "we’re Leeds United, were top of the league”, but I thought that was bit premature with 15 minutes and stoppage time still to play. Farke knew there was still work to be done, as his remaining changes were far more defensive. Rothwell and Byram got a breather as Guilavogui came on, while the return of Wöber brought my umlaut out of retirement. öööööö.
As we approached 90 minutes on the clock I thought we’d survived a few anxious moments to claim the win. Abdulai headed over from close range, while Meslier made a fine save from a fierce shot from Key. But then the Swans seemed to have doomed us to third place in the table after all, as Bianchini got between two of our defenders to score from close range.
Then six minutes of injury time was announced, so was there time for one more twist in the tale? You bet! Gnonto battled to win the ball inside the Swansea half, and though the momentum of the move seemed to have gone when the pass was played slightly behind Aaronson, and after a superb return pass picked him out, Gnonto was able to steady himself before slotting home a dramatic late winner off the keeper’s leg.
Farke made one more change, as young defender Debayo came on for James, so I don’t know what formation we had then, except that it was pretty defensive. Another minute was added to stoppage time for this substitution, our goal celebration and Gnonto sitting on the ball after being fouled, but after we’d cleared a couple of last ditch Swansea crosses, the final whistle brought this crazy game to an end, and we were indeed top of the league.
As we get our breath back we might be churlish and say that we need to work on the defensive lapses that allowed Swansea to get three goals. But this was always going to be a difficult away fixture, so I’d rather dwell on the fighting spirit we showed, and in the midst of another tight promotion race we will need plenty more of that in the months to come.