Eddie Gray’s tears and on-pitch dancing as Leeds United shake off historic trend — Leeds Live 21/4/25
Leeds United broke with tradition to give supporters the ultimate hope.
Leeds United never usually do it the easy way. It’s supposed
to be a hard, long slog. A tense finale that rests on the finest of margins.
Easter Monday was anything but that.
There was a buzz around Elland Road hours before kick-off.
Many had decided to get to the ground early ahead of what was a big day.
A few more supporters than usual had filtered into Elland
Road when the turnstiles opened, partly due to the weather but also due to what
was at stake. Each name on the teamsheet was given a huge cheer, especially for
the young Harry Gray who made the senior matchday squad for the first time.
Supporters lined the advertising hoardings in the warm-up
with barely any shoulder space to spare, with the faithful keen to get a
close-up glimpse of their heroes. Stoke City tried mind games early on with a
switch of ends before kick-off but it was the Potters who were shell-shocked by
half-time.
Five goals down and no way back. That became six halfway
through the second half as the catalogue of Leeds chants rang around the
stadium. One man was the focus of the day. Joel Piroe had gone nine games
without a goal before netting his first Leeds hat-trick inside 20 minutes
before he added a fourth before the break.
The striker has had his critics at times this season and has
missed a number of gilt-edged chances throughout the season. But this was his
time, today was the day he registered the most prolific day in his career.
He was given a standing ovation by Elland Road and by some
club media staff in the press box. I’m not sure Piroe could have dreamed of a
better game.
He bore a bright smile at full-time, as did Eddie Gray. He’d
just seen his grandson come on for his Leeds United debut. Tears were wiped
away with a handkerchief when Harry entered the fray, with hugs exchanged with
those nearby.
The 16-year-old was seen singing Marching On Together with
the crowd at the end of the game. One young girl held up a sign with the word
‘BELIEVE’ written on it. Pascal Struijk, on crutches, was not going to miss the
post-match celebrations, and came onto the pitch to celebrate with his
teammates.
Largie Ramazani, Ao Tanaka and Wilfried Gnonto were soon
seen jumping up and down with their arms pumping as the home fans chanted their
team off the pitch. These are the days to cherish.
Whether Leeds go up today or not, this was a special day to
remember at Elland Road. “They were fantastic, they added fuel to the fire,”
said Farke of the fans in his press conference.
The German has now become the Leeds manager to accumulate
the most points in a single league season, having surpassed Marcelo Bielsa’s
points tally of 93. And what's more, they did so serenely.