Leeds show ‘great mentality’ to remain in promotion hunt after seven-goal thriller — Independent 23/4/24
A dramatic win over Middlesbrough on Monday night saw Leeds climb to second in the table, overtaking Ipswich
Rebecca Johnson
Leeds manager Daniel Farke believes Leeds’ 4-3 victory over
Middlesbrough was a “good advertisement” for Championship football.
An end-to-end encounter at the Riverside produced five goals
in just the first half, starting with the hosts taking an early lead through
Isaiah Jones.
Leeds netted two goals in 11 minutes when Summerville
slotted home from the spot and Patrick Bamford came back to haunt the Riverside
after bundling a goal home.
Emmanuel Latte Lath drew Boro level on the 30 minute mark
but Wilfried Gnonto restored the visitors’ advantage in a frenetic first 45
minutes.
Summerville bagged his second of the game after the break
with a curling strike and there was late drama when Latte Lath scored a looping
header in the 87th minute but Leeds held on for the three points.
Reflecting on a thrilling clash, Farke believes his players
showed “great mentality” to see out victory.
He said: “First of all a good advertisement for Championship
football, I think all the supporters have enjoyed the game.
“(It was) a great piece of football from two good sides who
really went for it to win this game.
“To start the game with this unlucky goal, deflected pass
that normally wouldn’t have been a chance, they scored out of this.
“Middlesbrough played today with freedom because it was more
or less their last highlight, they could go for it and had a really good shape,
then they are 1-0 up after just a few moments.
“To show such a reaction in the first half to come back to
create so many chances, to score fantastic goals, was great for us to have.
“Compliments to Middlesbrough, they showed a fantastic
performance, but great mentality from our players to lead 3-2 at half-time.
“We needed to show some steel and resilience in the last
minutes to dig in and grind out this important result for us and we did.
“Many compliments for the heart, the mentality and the
character of our players today and for their offensive quality.”
The result means Leeds climb to second in the table,
overtaking Ipswich who have three games left this season compared to the
Yorkshire club’s two.
Boro remain ninth in the table and boss Michael Carrick
praised his side for their “incredible effort” but believes Gnonto’s goal,
which appeared to be offside, was a “massive decision” in the game.
“I enjoyed the game, I thought we did a lot of good things,”
he said.
“They’ve got some good quality and they’ve showed it all
season. At the top end of the pitch they’re really dangerous.
“I thought we defended largely in shape really well, we were
really good with the ball and dominated and controlled large parts of the game.
“I was really pleased with the boys and the effort was an
incredible effort all the way to the end. We went for it, we had to go for it,
we threw everything at them.
“The offside goal is a massive decision. We asked the boys
to defend well and hold the line together, the line’s impeccable really and I
think there’s three of them in the line around the edge of the box hold the
line.