We really could have done with all three points from Saturday’s home against Brighton and Hove Albion, but it’s a game we could well have lost after the visitors dominated much of the game.
Javi Gracia told the official site "If you ask me before the game, I will tell you we were looking for the three points. After the game, we have to value the point. Every point counts and after the game, when we were twice behind, I think it is good for us to take one point. But, at the same time, we are really disappointed as well”.
"They are a very good team and that’s why I think my players today deserve the credit because they followed the plan and did it really well. I have to recognise they created chances, but we did as well,” Gracia explained. Of course we can improve, if you see the last game and chances we created, we need to improve. But today we scored two goals and I believe we can do it in the future as well.”
This was always going to be a difficult game against a Brighton side who are having an excellent season and have an excellent chance of qualifying for Europe through their league place or via the FA Cup. But I was still hopeful that we might scrape a win in this game, as they haven’t been quite as impressive on their travels.
Yet when the game began there seemed to be a lack of urgency in the Leeds side, even though we began the day sitting inside the bottom three. Gacia’s style is a little more measured than the hectic style we got used to under Biesla and Marsch, but the opening stages became a stalemate as Brighton’s defence waited for us to come and press them so they could bypass us and get out, but we declined to do so.
I wondered if Brighton were trying to send us to sleep and then pounce, and that plan seemed to be working as their neat passing began to find space behind our defence. Ayling in particular was having a poor game. He had his work cut out stopping the threat of the impressive Mitoma, but there were several occasions when he failed to pick up the flight of a long ball down his flank, leaving gaping great gaps behind him.
Brighton took the lead in the 33rd minute and it had been coming. Solly March’s footwork bamboozled Roca on the Brighton right, and Mitoma outjumped Ayling to send his cross back into the centre. And there was Mac Allister running in completely unchallenged, with the simple task of heading past Meslier into the corner of the net.
The crowd had been getting frustrated even before the goal, and with Leeds behind there was some booing, and a chant of "what the **** is going on”? So it was a great relief to see Leeds equalise in the 41st minute. Rather against the run of play, but we’ll take it. Harrison won a challenge, and as he raced after the ball close to the touchline I thought "stay in!”
And he did get to the ball before it went out, playing it inside to Bamford. With nothing else on Bamford tried the shot from well outside the area, and it took a slight deflection to loop over the keeper and in off the underside of the bar. And with the joy of getting his first league goal of the season Bamford’s tail was up, and he was close to a second with another first time shot, but this one went into the side netting.
But we could have gone into half time one behind, after Mitoma again got past Ayling rather too easily before pulling the ball back for Mac Alister, and the Argentinian really should have scored instead of dragging his shot wide of the far post. But after this let-off Leeds began the second period quite brightly. Ayling had a good opportunity when he controlled the ball well with his chest, but got right underneath it when he shot, and sent the ball well over the bar. He might say it was with his weaker left foot.
But Leeds were to go behind again just after the hour, with the goal coming from a complete mess by our defence. First Wöber very nearly put through his own net, forcing Meslier into saving from his own colleague. But that meant our keeper was helpless to prevent the second own goal attempt from Harrison, which resulted from his attempt at clearing with his left while under pressure from March, when he needed to swing his right foot at the ball to take it away from goal.
Gracia responded with a triple substitution. Bamford came off, which I wasn’t convinced about just as he was getting his confidence back, but no doubt it was a planned move and he might have been running out of puff. Rodrigo came on and looked a little bit rusty, with a few poor touches showing he needs a bit more game time after his lay-off. But we were definitely better for the other two subs, with Gnonto and McKennie coming on for the ineffectual Roca and lightweight Summerville.
Brighton also made a couple of changes, and their sub Danny Welbeck had a couple of chances to kill the game off. Meslier made an excellent save to keep out the first, but he really should have scored after going past Wöber all too easily, but he sent his shot high and wide after trying to curl it into the top corner.
But with twelve minutes left Leeds conjured a second equaliser, with Gnonto taking a quick corner, a little too quick for the fan who had thrown another ball from the crowd in the interests of speeding the game up. As soon as Gnonto had passed to Harrison he stopped to flick the second ball off the pitch, and meanwhile Harrison took a step inside and curled a superb shot just inside the far post.
Brighton complained about the second ball being on the pitch, but referee Paul Tierney waved their protests away and allowed the goal to stand. And he was backed up by former referee Mark Halsey after SussexLive got in touch to ask his opinion. "Law 5: Outside interference states that play should only be stopped if the second ball interferes with play and prevents a defending player from playing the ball. In this case, the second ball doesn't have an impact on play."
So there. Rutter came on for Aaronson as we went to two up front, and then in the 93rd minute we had the most pointless substitution of the season as Sinisterra replaced Harrison. At least this didn’t give the Colombian time to get injured again. But none of this was enough for us to force a winner, and with everyone else near the bottom picking up points we ended the weekend above only Southampton.
A Gracia says, we can feel relieved to have at least taken a point from this match, but we are starting to run out of games. In April we have home games against three of the teams we are hoping to catch , in the shape of Forest, Palace and Leicester, none of whom are in great form at the moment, and we probably need to win at least two of those games.
At least we have a few players returning to form and fitness, but is that going to be enough to see us to safety?