Leeds United in new territory as chaos reigns but nothing has changed — Graham Smyth's Verdict — YEP 13/4/25

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United have reached 'just win' territory in the Championship season where chaos abounds and keeping your head is more than half the battle.

It's all well and good having technical superiority - Paul Heckingbottom all-but admitted as such by throwing his hands up and lauding Leeds' attacking depth at full-time of Preston North End's 2-1 defeat at Elland Road - but the variables of emotion and pressure can do funny things to football results. Chris Wilder's involvement in an ugly confrontation after Sheffield United's 2-1 loss at bottom side Plymouth Argyle suggested the funny side had escaped him entirely.

The two late Pilgrims goals that condemned Blades' to a third straight defeat were heard, felt and celebrated 326 miles north at Elland Road, where the urgency level was raised to critical in the final few minutes. The knowledge that a victory would once again create a five-point gap between Leeds and the Blades was a tantalising one and it made the Whites' one-goal advantage so precious.

Leeds United battered Preston

Such tension should never have been allowed to enter the stadium in the first place because Leeds battered Preston. They absolutely hammered them. Chance after chance after chance went begging. It was a 2-1 mullering. But even in just win territory, especially in just win territory with six minutes added on, a one-goal lead is so delicate. The mood inside Elland Road was tense. Yet beyond a moment when Ethan Ampadu bust a gut to keep a ball in play level with the Preston box, only to send the visitors on a counter, Leeds dealt with the emotions, the pressure and any semblance of peril to their lead. Seeing out a 2-1 win over Preston hits differently in April than it would in say October or January and the way Leeds managed themselves as much as the game was one of the most impressive aspects of this win.

Another was the start they made. From the kick-off they built a sustained period of possession, dominating territory and the ball and showing all the patience required to work their way forward, going right and then left before Manor Solomon curled in a beauty of a strike from the corner of the area. It was perfection itself.

But their reaction to going ahead was every bit as bad as Preston's reaction was good. The visitors put together their first attack, found Leeds wanting in the middle and sent the ball left where Kaine Kesler-Hayden isolated Junior Firpo in a one-v-one, shimmied to leave the left-back for dead and hammered the ball into Karl Darlow's net.

Elland Road responded well to the set-back and so too did Leeds. With less than a quarter of an hour gone they were back in front. Solomon's cross was as beautiful as his goal and Jayden Bogle just had to knock the ball in from a couple of yards.

From that point Leeds controlled things to varying degrees. Preston played a bit more football than was expected and once or twice a long ball caused the hosts a slight issue but Darlow's only real contribution for the remainder of the first half was to catch two corners.

Joel Piroe’s finishing woe

The story that began to develop played out at the other end of the pitch, where Joel Piroe's inability to put the ball in the net confounded belief and his goalscoring record this season. Ten minutes from the break Brenden Aaronson forced the ball into the Dutchman's path and he shot from six-yards only to see a defender's last-gasp lunge deflect the ball wide. Aaronson had two bites at the cherry with a saved shot and a tame header from the rebound, then Willy Gnonto's clever pass was dummied by Firpo and Piroe snatched at a first-time effort to send it sailing past the post.

The second half was a bit more of a procession as Leeds peppered Preston, but not before Darlow pulled off a good stop to deny Ben Whiteman from a training-ground corner move. After that it was one-way traffic and Solomon was conducting it. He opened his body to find Aaronson with a lovely pass, the American fed Piroe and he drove the ball wide. Solomon crossed from the byline and Piroe crashed the ball onto the crossbar. Aaronson cut it back and Gnonto sent it over the bar. Bogle crossed and Piroe headed wide. Solomon's shot was tipped wide. His corner was somehow not bundled in from two yards by a completely free Joe Rodon.

Missing that many chances and good ones to boot always invites a sucker punch and when Darlow made his first mistake of this run of games, coming necessarily to punch a cross and connecting with the ball outside the confines of his box, Preston drew back their fist. The free-kick, from the d, hit Aaronson and went out for a corner and relief washed over Elland Road.

Leeds simply went right back to it, countering with speed in a move that ended when Piroe shot wide yet again. It was not to be his day and Elland Road's calls for Patrick Bamford were almost immediately followed by Farke calling him back to the bench to get ready. He took Aaronson's place on the pitch and Piroe's up top, the latter dropping in to play 10.

Championship promotion chaos

It was around this time that the chaos of the Championship took over. Goals going into the Blades net in Devon, celebrations in the stands in Yorkshire that informed those on the pitch that something big was happening, Preston trying everything to create one last attack and Leeds trying to keep a lid on everything. You can't have ecstacy without agony, not with this club. There will be more of that for another week or two at least and performances will pale further in significance next to results. The permutations are starting to take shape and Bramall Lane headloss has focused Leeds minds on what exactly they need now to clinch a top-two place. It will help if the likes of Solomon and Bogle perform as they did against Preston, if Darlow continues to calm things down with mostly sensible goalkeeping and if Farke remains more level headed than those losing theirs as the pressure ramps up.

But nothing has really changed. Leeds go to Oxford United on Friday night and will still be in just win territory. That is where they will live until the end, whether bitter or sweet.