Leeds United 1 West Bromwich Albion 1: Unbeaten run goes on but with a warning not to light the cigars just yet — Yorkshire Post 1/3/25
By Stuart Rayner
If back-to-back come-from-behind victories against the
chasing pack had given the impression that Leeds United's Championship charge
was unstoppable, the comedown against West Bromwich Albion was a warning not to
light the cigars just yet.
It was far from a disaster, the Whites extending their
unbeaten run to 17 league matches – their best sequence since the season they
won the division above in 1991-92.
But a spirited Baggies took two points off them with a 1-1
draw that was as much about their own sloppiness.
In the first half, Leeds looked like a team that had been to
the well too often, sloppy and complacent after taking an early lead. Their
second-half showing was more intense, but still as ragged.
Had second-half efforts from substitute Mateo Joseph and
Daniel James gone under rather than onto the crossbar, it would have papered
over things a bit, but this was one of those days when work was a bit of a slog
for the league leaders. Yet they still did not lose.
They might well have got away with a win against some teams
– maybe even Carlos Corberan's Baggies of early season – but Tony Mowbray's
team followed his public pre-match instruction to "throw some
punches" and got their reward.
It had looked unlikely after 10 minutes.
Jayden Bogle had started brilliantly again, doing a
fantastic job to keep Joe Rodon's pass in play as former Barnsley player Callum
Styles threw himself into a tackle.
Bogle's fellow full-back Junior Firpo is in form too, and in
the ninth minute he scored his second centre-forward's header in a week, rising
brilliantly to another expert James cross.
Leeds have never lost a league game when scoring the opening
goal under Daniel Farke and maybe they believed the hype.
The manager got increasingly agitated as passes went astray,
screaming at Ao Tanaka and one point, then theatrically swinging a kick after
Joe Rothwell's overhit ball. Soon after Pascal Struijk overdid a simple ball
down the line to Firpo.
In the 34th minute Rodon and Illan Meslier left a
throughball to each other until the goalkeeper decided to step in just before
Adam Armstrong could.
Even at 0-0 Leeds had been served a warning, John Swift
scuffing Isaac Price's pass enough to put it beyond the far post, but only
just.
They kept coming once behind, Mikey Johnston coming inside
and hitting a shot at a defender, and Bogle needing an excellent tackle to stop
Styles finishing off a dangerous counter attack.
But when Struijk shoved Armstrong in the back after 39th
minute, West Brom got both centre-backs onto Bogle at the far post and it was
the man behind him, Darnell Furlong, who headed Swift's free-kick in for a
deserved equaliser – deserved for the visitors and especially deserved for
Leeds.
They re-emerged for the second half unchanged in terms of
personnel, but with noticeably more oomph.
Still, though, the errors were there, as was West Brom's
defiance.
Price was able to dive in to stop Manor Solomon taking
advantage of a good scoring position, and Kyle Bartley wore a thumping shot
when a corner broke to the winger.
When Bogle slipped Firpo in, the cross deflected harmlessly.
Tanaka played a great ball to the left-back, whose cross
found Bogle by accident only for the latter's ball in to be blocked. James shot
at Joe Wildsmith.
As Leeds forced the issue and West Brom inevitably had to
soak things up a bit, with Solomon regularly finding space in the inside-left
channel, the flow became increasingly one-way.
Rothwell, preferred in midfield to Ilia Gruev, found James,
who shifted the ball and shot but could not force it through the crowd. Neither
could Tanaka, despite trying to pick his way through from the rebound.
Firpo tried a repeat of his goal after 70 minutes, but this
time headed over.
Leeds' best chance came shortly after the introduction of
Joseph from the bench, a good move involving Firpo and Solomon finding the
youngster, who shot against the crossbar as the angle narrowed.
The nagging worry over a sucker-punch was always there late
on.
Furlong put a diving header over, Tom Fellows was unable to
get over his volley shortly after coming on, and Rodon stopping the substitute
with a tackle as he fell that lacked grace but was full of effectiveness
James had the chance for yet another stoppage time goal in
the third added minute, but found the woodwork from another tight angle.