Leeds United best case scenario thanks to chance taking sub — Graham Smyth's FA Cup Verdict at Derby — YEP 12/1/26

By Graham Smyth

The Verdict on Leeds United’s comeback 3-1 FA Cup win at Derby County.

The best case scenario for Leeds United at Derby County was to avoid an upset, preserve momentum and maybe breathe life into a fringe player or two.

If the strength of the Leeds squad that arrived at Pride Park raised eyebrows it was just the start of the surprises. Daniel Farke went with a much stronger XI than many would have predicted, keeping Ethan Ampadu and Jaka Bijol in an exclusively senior line-up. The only sign of the 'kids' was the inclusion of Sam Chambers on the bench. And where John Eustace might have been hoping or expecting to come up against the 4-2-3-1 formation he was so successful against in the past, he found himself facing a back three. Ampadu dropped into the defence to partner Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw.

There was no magic in the cup tie's opening 10 minutes, in which both sides traded set-pieces and neither profited. No one was able to dominate possession or territory. But Leeds should have scored. Ao Tanaka's speculative ball forward was gathered by Willy Gnonto and though his pass for Lukas Nmecha was poor, it fell to Noah Okafor who showed no composure or Premier League quality, sending his shot skyward.

That became a theme. Jack Harrison did little to suggest he should be getting more Premier League minutes, wasting a number of good crossing opportunities. He was far from alone in failing to grasp an opportunity. The front three were ineffective and failed to hold the ball up or unbalance the Championship defence in early stages.

Leeds took half an hour to really start exerting dominance and showing a little quality. Had they shown a little more they would have taken the lead. In one spell of pressure Joel Piroe struck the post from close range but a tight angle and Okafor brought a sharp save from Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. Then when Piroe played in Nmecha and he was taken out by the keeper, Anthony Taylor presented Leeds with a golden chance to go ahead. Piroe's effort from the spot was in many ways an accurate summary of Leeds' first half - not quite good enough. It lacked conviction and Zetterstrom was more than equal to it.

Sleepy first-half defending costs Leeds United

And having failed to make their spell of pressure count, Leeds compounded matters with some sleepy defending that was duly punished. Corey Blackett-Taylor got at Bornauw, went to ground as Gnonto joined in and then both Leeds and time stood still as Ben Brereton Diaz stroked the ball into the far corner. Karl Darlow's part in the goal was a little reminiscent of Lucas Perri's in the Newcastle winner but on this occasion the defence did very little to cover themselves in glory in the first instance.

The final seconds of the half brought the very situation Farke was hoping to avoid by rotating. Bornauw was playing the centre-back-winger hybrid role that Farke has given to Joe Rodon of late and after a burst forward down the flank to try and cross, the big defender began to stretch gingerly. Then he was signalling to the bench that he would have to come off. His departure at the break introduced James Justin into the tie and served a little reminder that while in-built flexibility and versatility can handle the immediate issues, it would not take much more to stretch Leeds' central defensive sources too thin.

Given the quality of the substitutes out warming up at half-time it always remained likely that Leeds would have a real go at their Championship hosts in the second half. By the time Farke dipped into his bench, however, the game was well under control and the starters had remembered they operate at a higher level than Derby County. It took them 10 minutes to level, passing the ball with more purpose and zip to cut the hosts open. Ilia Gruev to Ao Tanaka to Jaka Bijol to Gnonto, thanks to Piroe's clever dummy. Gnonto's finish was elite, finding the far top corner. The winger's performance was not a complete one, his defensive awareness for the Derby goal was poor, but the ball hitting the net in such beautiful fashion was a sight for sore eyes given his frustrating season so far.

Leeds swiftly went ahead after Willy Gnonto leveller

Four minutes later Leeds were heading for the next round. Tanaka to Gnonto to Piroe to Nmecha in the area, he pulled it back to Okafor, he teed up Piroe and when his shot was clawed out by Zetterstrom, Tanaka popped up to make it 2-1. It was another good team goal and a reward for Leeds' attacking intent since the half-hour mark.

Derby were always clinging on after that, hoping for one more chance to try and snatch an equaliser while living dangerously. Had it not been for their goalkeeper's excellent reflexes, Nmecha would have added the insurance prior to time added on. But with the hosts pushing to attack, substitute Sean Longstaff sensed a chance to counter and found Nmecha, whose perfect cross was tucked in expertly by Justin. Of all the players who have operated mostly on the fringes in the first half of this campaign, Justin is one who looks to have made it almost a straight shootout for the right-sided defensive slot with Jayden Bogle. All it took was for Bogle to be rested for a single game and Justin seized his chance. Since getting in, and staying in thanks to Bogle's calf problem, the summer signing has been excellent. His goal and his performance ensured that all three boxes were ticked for a best-case FA Cup day out for Leeds.

They roll on to face Fulham now at Elland Road and even if Bogle passes fit, it would be no surprise if Justin keeps his spot. Beyond that few others who have had to get their minutes in cameo roles will expect to start because Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Joe Rodon, Anton Stach, Brenden Aaronson and Gabriel Gudmundsson are all almost guaranteed to come straight back in. But Leeds' recent form and the momentum they maintained at Pride Park has been a squad achievement - substitutes have played big parts, players like Ilia Gruev and Bornauw have come in and done jobs. There is obvious togetherness, evidenced for example by the unused Calvert-Lewin posting an image of FA Cup Man of the Match Gnonto on his Instagram. They will all be needed for the survival fight. And thanks to what is now officially an FA Cup run, there will be another chance for Farke to rotate and fringe players to shine in just a few weeks.