Connor Roberts gives Leeds options in the Championship promotion race — The Athletic 6/3/24
By Nancy Froston
There is something to be said for the professional
performance, the slightly gritty edge to a win in a promotion race.
They are rarely the games to leave fans feeling misty-eyed,
but those wins are just as important as the rest and they can often be useful
for spotting the finer details in a team’s makeup.
Tuesday night’s hard-fought win over relegation-threatened
Stoke City performed exactly that role, with a 1-0 victory for Daniel Farke’s
side extending their unbeaten run at home to 18 league games (14 wins and four
draws).
Among the talking points for nervous Leeds fans at the end
were the impact of 20-year-old Mateo Joseph from the bench, the crucial saves
of Illan Meslier as Stoke ramped up the pressure, and how worrying it was that
the win felt so laboured. This is a demanding period and tired performances are
inevitable.
Fresh ideas and fresher legs came in the form of Connor
Roberts, handed his full league debut at right-back as 17-year-old sensation
Archie Gray was given a rest on the bench after 10 successive league starts.
After a steady introduction to the side with five appearances from the bench
and a first start against Chelsea in the FA Cup last week, the Burnley loanee
offered something different as an experienced and natural right-back with more
than 300 senior games behind him.
As Leeds dominated the first half, he made surging runs
forward on the overlap around Wales team-mate Dan James but also inside,
flooding the box to overwhelm a floundering Stoke. In glaring green boots,
Roberts, 28, attacked in a more traditional sense than Gray, a central
midfielder used to great effect at right-back, hitting the channel and
delivering crosses from wicked angles as Leeds had joy down the flanks.
Among Roberts’ tempting crosses was an effort headed over by
Georginio Rutter as Leeds moved through the gears before finally finding relief
in James’ goal. His twisting and turning before a low finish, aided by a
deflection off Ben Wilmot, proved to be the difference and ensured Leeds
maintained their record as the only Championship team to remain unbeaten when
scoring first.
James and Roberts’ partnership was not one-way, with the former finding the latter in advanced positions as much as Roberts fed James up the line (see pass map below with Roberts’ passes to James in red and James’ to Roberts in blue). Roberts’ two chances created in the course of the match were a good contribution given the change of momentum in the second half that saw him pinned back much more.
As Stoke grew into the game and benefited from early
second-half substitutions by manager Steven Schumacher, the brief changed for
Leeds and Roberts.
The performance no longer became about taking a team to the
sword in attack. Instead, it felt like a battle to protect what they had. In
truth, they should have scored more when they were creating chances. The
intensity of the first half — driven by fast restarts after their research on
Stoke pointed to their struggles in adapting quickly to fast throws or goal
kicks — no longer suited the game.
As shown in the graphics below, in the opening 45 minutes, Roberts managed to make more touches in the attacking half…
… but in the second half, Leeds’ drop in intensity is reflected by how Roberts was pinned back…
His performance was a good account of what an experienced
player can add to an otherwise young team exemplified by his show of
frustration towards Meslier, 24, for taking an aimless kick up field out of his
hands rather than ensuring Leeds retained possession as Stoke pushed for an
equaliser.
Gray has shown what he has to offer in defence and midfield
and the good news for Leeds is that Roberts’ arrival brings more flexibility
for the 17-year-old, who excelled in his favoured midfield position in the 3-2
FA Cup defeat to Chelsea.
When Roberts signed on loan until the end of the season in
January, Leeds did not make him firm promises about minutes. They knew they
needed an extra right-back but were unwilling to compromise Gray’s minutes to
any great extent. The tiredness on show at the full-time whistle, with muted
celebrations from Leeds players and a feeling of relief rather than jubilation,
proves that both will be needed in this tough run-in.
Seeing out the worst of the Stoke danger, with the added
jeopardy of playing 10 men after the weekend’s struggles in similar
circumstances against Huddersfield Town, once Ben Pearson was sent off, is
another sign this Leeds side can go the distance in the title race. With
Ipswich Town coming from behind twice to secure a 3-2 win over Bristol City on
the same night, these are the wins that matter, as reflected by boss Farke’s
belief that this was the “best win of 2024”.
“Everyone expects us to win this home game,” he said. “I’m
happy with the first half, we needed 15 or 20 minutes to get going and then we
were all over them. Second half we opted too much to wait for the transition
moment. When we had the ball we did not control the game because we were too
greedy to go for the next attack, a basketball game. We kept going for
transitions and it caused some nerves in the end, but we return with a clean
sheet.
“It was not our best second half, but these hard-fought wins
are what bring you into a top position.”