Derby County 1-3 Leeds United: Breach the walls — Square Ball 12/1/26

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Words by: Chris McMenamy

Leeds United flexed their Premier League muscle deep in injury time at Derby County. Sean Longstaff’s smart pass set Lukas Nmecha off down the left wing, and the big lad’s sumptuous outside of the boot cross found none other than substitute right-back James Justin, piling into the box like Stuart Dallas at Stoke to poke the ball under the Derby goalkeeper to seal a 3-1 win.

If ever Leeds United needed reminding just how important it is to survive in the Premier League, a midday kick-off at Pride Park was enough to do the trick. Though the FA Cup third round holds a different mystique than the Championship, the premise of a smaller club psyching themselves up to beat the Peacocks still stands. A much-changed Leeds side actually managed to progress into the next round despite trailing 1-0 at half-time and Jacob Zetterström saving Joël Piroe’s 33rd-minute penalty. It doesn’t tend to go like that.

TNT Sports’ commentary team of Mike Minay and Joe Hart did their best to create an ambience of intrigue without directly referencing Spygate too many times on its seventh anniversary, but the tepid atmosphere and lack of footballing jeopardy left most of us feeling cold — not quite as cold as the thousands of Leeds fans in attendance, however. This match lacked the gravitas and toxicity of previous clashes as priorities for both sides lay elsewhere. 5,200 travelling Leeds fans may have been choking down pints at ten in the morning, but their suffering in the bitter Derbyshire winter meant that, mercifully, they weren’t subjected to Robbie Savage’s punditry.

Daniel Farke named three wingers, two strikers and only two recognised defenders in his side. Sebastiaan Bornauw appeared to be playing right-back with Jack Harrison on the opposite side and Ethan Ampadu partnering Jaka Bijol in the middle of defence, but it was hard to tell as John Eustace set Derby up in their predictable low block, willing to soak up pressure and make sure the walls weren’t breached by the attacking invaders.

It took thirty minutes and a speculative Piroe effort to crash off the post to inject any life into the match. Noah Okafor worked the ‘keeper immediately after with a shot from the left wing, before a through ball to Nmecha resulted in him clattering into Zetterström and earning the penalty. There are no certainties when it comes to Leeds United but one can be forgiven for expecting Piroe to score from the penalty spot despite missing in the shootout at Sheffield Wednesday, nor can they be surprised when Zetterström, having the game of his life, pulled off an impressive save to his right to keep the match goalless.

What unfolded after the ‘keeper’s save was even less surprising; a cynic would perhaps describe it as scripted. Bornauw allowed Derby winger Corey Blackett-Taylor into the Leeds area before a scramble saw the ball pop up for Ben Brereton Diaz to shoot under Karl Darlow’s hand. Two and a half minutes separated Piroe’s penalty and Diaz’s goal. Normal service resumed for the following ten minutes leading to half-time, with Leeds attacking a resolute Derby defence and giving Zetterström just enough work to showcase his skills and have some fans half-joking about signing him at full-time.

“If you miss the chances we did in the first half, and they score how they did, we had to keep our heads and stick to our processes,” said Farke after the match. Leeds began the second half with one enforced change as Bornauw came off injured for James Justin. Derby sitting deep only invited more pressure and when Ao Tanaka spotted a wild Bijol roaming thirty yards from the opposition’s goal, he played a clever pass around the first line of Derby’s defence to the big centre-half. Bijol picked out Piroe, who showed class to dummy and allow Wilf Gnonto to come steaming onto the pass and wallop the ball past a helpless ‘keeper. Leeds were level after ten minutes of the second half and began to turn the screw from there.

They were in front shortly after when Piroe’s first time shot from twenty yards fell to Tanaka, the playmaker-turned-poacher, who tapped in to put Leeds ahead. Tanaka’s muted celebration perhaps marked a sign of respect for taking the magic of the cup out of proceedings. Wrexham had beaten Nottingham Forest on penalties and non-league Macclesfield had deposed defending champions Crystal Palace in this round already, and Leeds weren’t about to become another storyline.

Farke can be forgiven for rotating the side to such an extent that Leeds began with five attackers on the pitch, not least because you can understand him wanting to get ahead of Eustace’s invariable opening goal, leading to the subsequent bus parking and time wasting. The starting XI also reflected the need for reinforcements that fit the newfound 3-5-2, but ones that also remain capable of adapting to his more accustomed back four. The Jack Harrison left-back experiment isn’t one people are keen to see long term, certainly not in the Premier League with Leeds United.

Sean Longstaff’s return from injury and a rare Sam Byram spotting made for the highlights as this tie trickled towards a tame conclusion, even after Derby introduced their £7m striker Patrick Agyemang in the final twenty minutes. The transfer fee for a club in Derby’s position is rather astounding. Have they sold their stadium again? Do we really care, now that we’re insufferable Premier League pigs?

It’s a luxury to be sat in front of the TV worried more about turning up the heating than a Derby equaliser forcing everyone into another thirty minutes of football they hadn’t planned to watch on a Sunday lunchtime. I’m not sure what I was even worried about, as Jonny Cooper’s wonderful stat reminded me of Leeds’ excellent record at Pride Park:

Surviving in the Premier League is Leeds’ one and only priority this season, but not embarrassing ourselves on live TV is always an added bonus and rarely taken for granted. Despite the early scare, Farke picked up his first win against his old Championship nemesis John Eustace and managed to rotate almost a full Leeds side without disastrous consequences. Let’s call that a reasonable success and move on, preferably to a home tie at a normal time against someone quite rubbish. No, not Macclesfield.