Leeds United 2 Sheffield United 0: Whites lay down a marker with dominant Yorkshire derby win — Yorkshire Post 18/10/24
By Stuart Rayner
If Leeds United and Sheffield United are to repeat their
Championship promotion struggle of 2019, the Whites laid down a real marker at
Elland Road on Friday night.
They might only have won 2-0 but both sets of players knew
the reality of the situation, this has been as comprehensive as such a narrow
scoreline can be.
If you were nit-picking you would say it was yet another
reminder that this Leeds team needs to be more ruthless but for anyone who
supports them, it was not a night for nit-picking.
It leaves the Yorkshire rivals level on points with
Championship leaders Sunderland, who play at Hull City on Sunday. Leeds are
only second on goal scored.
The Blades went into the game having not conceded a league
goal in 606 minutes of football, or lost all season, but they could not live
with a Leeds side who can sometimes struggle at Elland Road against teams as
defensive as they forced the Blades to be, but who passed the ball with a speed
seldom seen there, and a brightness of mind to boot.
Bar a couple of minutes before Pascal Struijk broke the
deadlock, Leeds dictated throughout, showing more and more signs as the first
half went on that they were going to crack the puzzle. It took them 68 minutes
and a corner of all things, but they eventually did.
Chris Wilder's surprise pre-match decisions quickly made
sense. Rhys Norrington-Davies came in at left-back with Harrison Burrows pushed
onto the left wing of the Blades' now usual 4-2-3-1. Harry Souttar and Anel
Ahmdehodzic played the other way round to normal at centre-back.
But with Jayden Bogle playing high up the pitch as ever and
Willy Gnonto coming inside, it very quickly became a back three,
Norrington-Davies coming inside and making Souttar the middle centre-back.
At the start, Sheffield United looked very happy to play as
an away side would, but the longer it went on and the less of a say they had in
the matter, the more uncomfortable they must have become.
Leeds dominated possession from the start but importantly
the speed of their passing moved through the gears to try to find a way
through.
For all the possession Leeds had, they only had six
first-half shots, most of them towards its end.
It was midway through the opening period before Ahmedhodzic
was forced into the first really important challenge of the night for the
visitors, to stop Gnonto breaking through.
But a minute later Junior Firpo glided past his man far too
easily after being released by a perceptive switch by Ao Tanaka.
Then it was Joe Rothwell, making a surging run from
midfield. He fed Largie Ramazani, but the angle was against the Leeds forward.
After 27 minutes Ramazani did make goalkeeper Michael Cooper
earn his money, tipping his shot onto a past after Brenden Aaronson had opened
things up with a lovely flick around the corner.
Cooper shanked a 40th-minute kick, making work for himself
as he had to touch Aaronson's shot behind as he backpedalled.
The dizzying effect on the visitors was spelt out when
Kieffer Moore touched a ball back to Gnonto so bewilderingly, he instantly put
his head in his hands. Gnonto's run was smothered, the ball ping-ponging onto
Norrington-Davies' hand far too close for the referee to pay much attention to
the penalty appeals, not that he could probably see much of it anyway.
Aaronson cushioned a volley over from Firpo's cross at the
end of the half. There was a bit more behind the one which started the second
half but like Joel Piroe's shot soon after, it comfortably cleared the
crossbar. When Firpo had the chance to shoot, he miskicked.
It was clear the Blades needed to change something and their
triple substitution on the hour instantly did that. Burrows had a shot blocked
after Joe Rodon's heavy touch turned a hopeful long ball into a chance and a
poor header from the centre-back presented Oliver Arblaster with a strike that
flicked inches wide off Tanaka.
But as is often the way, one team opening up let the other
in.
Gnonto was about to be substituted as he won a 68th-minute
corner. Off the field, he was still trotting back to the dugout when Rothwell
played it just behind Struijk, who smashed the bouncing ball in.
"Do, do do, we scored from a corner!" sang the
scarcely-believing home fans before changing the lyrics into something
altogether less polite about Wilder.
It took until the 90th minute to put the faint possibility
of a smash-and-grab result to bed.
The introduction of Mateo Joseph pushed Piroe deeper and
from there he threaded the pass the youngster held Sydie Peck off to coolly
slot the ball home for only his second goal of the season.
It was a night to take great confidence from for the
ecstatic hosts, one to learn the lessons of for the well-beaten visitors.