Farke boils over, Ayling allegiances, Cooper touchline explosion in Leeds United moments missed — Leeds Live 23/4/24
Leeds United beat Middlesbrough 4-3 at Riverside Stadium in the Championship on Monday night and here are some of the moments you may have missed
By Beren Cross
Luke Ayling was always going to be at the centre of Monday
night’s game between his parent club and temporary employer. The long-serving
Leeds United right-back did not hide away from the limelight or any difficult
questions from the broadcasters either.
While he spent the night watching the game alongside fellow
loanee Sam Greenwood, Ayling was getting among both camps and in front of the
cameras before kick-off. While you will have seen his on-screen interview, you
may not have seen how much time he spent with United’s backroom staff.
Ayling is very close to the likes of Rob Price, head of
medicine and performance, and his medical department after nearly eight years
at Elland Road. He was chatting with the staff in the Leeds technical area for
a long time during the warm-ups.
Farke loses his cool
There was so much riding on last night. Automatic promotion
would have remained mathematically possible without a win on Teesside, but the
current league table made it very tall order for the Whites without the three
points.
After one win in five games, tensions were running high and
there was anxiety in the Leeds camp to ensure to they stayed in front on the
night. As the first half approached its conclusion, Daniel Farke’s frustrations
began to boil over.
Holding his palms out, Farke seemed to calling on his
players to hold their positions or take better care of possession. They were
not meeting his demands and he repeatedly went back and forth to the dugout to
vent with his backroom staff.
Cooper can’t hold it in
As Crysencio Summerville wheeled away to celebrate his
majestic second goal of the night, putting Leeds 4-2 in front, captain Liam
Cooper could not contain himself. The benched skipper leapt out from the dugout
and celebrated at the front of the technical area with several staff members.
They all knew how important that goal was.
Gray stands his ground again
One of the sub-plots during this season has been the
keenness of some opponents to think they can lean on or intimidate teenager
Archie Gray. Finn Azaz, 23, was the latest to leave one on the youngster by the
touchline, but Gray went head to head with him before the referee and
team-mates intervened.
Gruev’s turn for on-the-job training
Farke has never been shy in coaching his players immediately
after the final whistle while they are still on the field. Djed Spence was
memorably spoken to after the win at Blackburn Rovers in December when he had
been less than proactive in tracking back.
On Monday night, it was Ilia Gruev who Farke went to and
spoke with for several minutes, gesticulating around the field as he debriefed
the Bulgarian on what he could improve on.