For a long time it seemed as though Leeds were about to lose ground in the promotion race, but as Sunderland tired we produced a dramatic comeback in the last 12 minutes, to effectively knock the Black Cats out of the title race.
There were no changes to the starting line-up, for the first of two vital games against promotion rivals on successive Monday nights. Probably four points would be a good return over the two games, and while this wasn’t a must-win, we certainly wanted the victory after the annoying way that the reverse fixture in October slipped from our grasp.
But after the first half it seemed unlikely that we would get it. It was not for the lack of possession, but Sunderland were very disciplined and determined in their defensive play, and once again we found it hard to break down such a defence. And Sunderland were looking the more likely to score, on the rare occasions when they did manage to get down the pitch.
First Le Fee took the ball down the Sunderland left and crossed into the box, where the real opportunity was created by Gruev slipping over. That meant he wasn’t there to block Bellingham’s shot, so Meslier had to dive to his left, before recovering in time to make a second save as Roberts got to the rebound.
That was the warning, but we didn’t heed it, and Sunderland took the lead with another breakaway in the 32nd minute. Isidor turned Ampadu, who wasn’t strong enough to resist, despite having both arms around the Sunderland man. Isidor could easily have gone down, but battled on, to place his shot past Meslier and onto the far post, and from there it bounced into the net.
Ampadu later admitted that he should have done better, but he was of course playing out of position. I can only presume that Struijk didn’t start because the Dutchman has yet to get back to full fitness after his injury problems earlier in the year.
For the rest of the half our attacks amounted quantity rather than quality, and the best of them came when Solomon sent Firpo down the left, and James met his deep cross at the far post, only for the ball to be cleared by O’Nien. Though it probably wasn’t on target anyway. And our frustration started to show, as Tanaka, Bogle picked up yellow cards in a niggly end to the first half.
And for much of the second half it looked like were going to continue to struggle to break Sunderland down, but there were a couple of promising moments. Solomon played a 1-2 with Firpo before playing a dangerous ball across the face of goal, but Patterson pounced on it before Piroe could pounce. And Leeds finally produced a shot on target with Piroe’s effort from outside the box, but Patterson got down to make the save.
On 70 minutes Daniel Farke made what turned out to be a crucial pair of substitutions. Removing Tanaka seemed a strange move, though that might have bee due to the booking he collected in the first half. Rothwell came on, not least because Sunderland had been starting to concede a lot of free kicks, so it would help if we had someone who could make good use of them.
The other change saw Gruev taken off, after the Bulgarian hadn’t had one of his better games. Struijk’s introduction seemed to be intended to allow Ampadu to move forward into midfield, but the Dutchman’s presence was to be crucial in the time that remained. Meanwhile Sunderland’s changes were mostly defensive, as they fell back and invited more pressure.
And that pressure finally told in the 78th minute, after Firpo’s progress down the left was interrupted by a tired late challenge. Struijk rose to meet Rothwell’s inswinging free kick and flicked it goalwards, where O’Nien’s despairing lunge could only whack the ball into the roof of the net, and Leeds were level. The next two subs were already planned before we scored, but they went ahead anyway, to inject fresh blood as we went in search of the win.
Joseph and Ramazani came on for Aaronson and Solomon, with the final change seeing Byram replacing Firpo for the last few minutes. That might have owed much to Firpo’s yellow card for a clumsy challenge on our old boy Poveda, who had come on to give our marauding full back something else to think about.
As five minutes of injury time were announced I was thinking that I wouldn’t be too displeased with a draw after we had been behind for so long, but that wasn’t to be how it turned out. In the last minute of the game Rothwell’s corner from the right was only partially cleared out to Ramazani, though for a second I was cursing the Belgian for sending a hugely overhit cross over everyone’s head.
But Rothwell had stayed out wide, and he collected the ball before cutting inside past Le Fee and curling a left foot cross towards goal. And once again Struijk was there to meet it, and scenes of pandemonium broke out as the Dutchman headed home from close range. Daniel Farke was booked after he and most of the substitutes ran on the pitch to celebrate, which means he won’t be on the touchline for the Bramall Lane trip.
But amidst the joy of the moment it hardly seemed to matter, as the result meant we have a ten point lead over the Wearside mob, which surely makes it highly unlikely they will catch us in the games that remain. And more importantly, we are now seven points clear of third placed Burnley, with a much better goal difference.
After the match Daniel Farke told BBC Radio Leeds: "These type of wins are the best kind you can have in football for the supporters and the whole group. They are priceless points. It's a great night for everyone connected to Leeds United. We haven't won anything yet but to do this against one of the best sides in the league in a difficult game.”
"We were there with almost 70% possession so it was well deserved but once they led it is so difficult and complicated”. But he still wanted a moan about his killjoy yellow card. "I had only one yellow card before this season and now I have had a couple of doubtful ones. If I miss the game at Bramall Lane because of a celebration to a 95th minute goal then I have to adapt to the rules. We live by the rules but I doubt if it makes sense. It is what it is."
Hopefully this will be one of the great nights we look back on at the end of a successful promotion campaign. We’ve had the games when our talented squad battered the lesser teams in this division, but this was all about will power, to keep battling in a game when it didn’t seem to be going our way. And the team spirit was evident at the end, as even the subs who didn’t get on rushed to congratulate the goalscorer.
There is still a way to go before we secure promotion, but I’m starting to think we can’t possibly mess it up from here.