A Christmas cracker of a game at Elland Road, saw Rovers throw away a lead in the dying embers, and eventually go on to lose the match on Boxing Day, as Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United continued their charge towards the Premier League, by extending their lead at the top of the Championship table.
The line-up that took to the pitch at Elland Road saw a couple of changes from Saturday’s narrow defeat at home to Norwich City. Derrick Williams and Jack Rodwell were brought back to the side at the expense of Harrison Reed and Richie Smallwood, both of whom occupied places on the bench. Although the starting-11 suggested a 5-2-1-2 set-up, with Ryan Nyambe and Amari’i Bell as wing-backs and Bradley Dack behind Adam Armstrong and Danny Graham, Rovers took a more traditional approach by starting the game in a 4-2-3-1 with Bell and Armstrong on the wings, however in the second-half, Dack became a striker alongside Graham, whilst, when defending Rovers became a back 5, with Williams tucking in alongside Darragh Lenihan and Charlie Mulgrew.
With 34,863, including 1,378 Rovers fans roaring on from all 4 corners of the ground, the hosts got the game underway in a bid to further extend their lead at the top of the league.
Leeds started the brighter of the sides as on the 4th minute, Pablo Hernandez tried his luck from range, but saw his shot blocked by Nyambe.
Luke Ayling also fired in a shot from outside the box on the 12th minute, but his attempt was nowhere near goal as Rovers earnt a goal-kick.
Seconds from the restart of play, Rovers had the ball in the back of the net through Bradley Dack, but the goal did not stand as referee Steven Martin had blown for a foul on Barry Douglas during the build-up, before the Rovers midfielder sarcastically tapped the ball home.
On the 19th minute, Rovers had their first real opportunity of the game, which came through one half of the central midfield partnership, Jack Rodwell. The move was started by Derrick Williams who crossed the ball centrally, aimed at Graham who was held on the edge of the box by Kalvin Phillips. Graham, however, was able to lay the ball off to Jack Rodwell, who struck a first-time shot that dragged narrowly wide.
Leeds were next to try and break the deadlock, as they registered their first proper attempt on goal through Ezgjan Alioski after a good move by the home side. From Pontus Jansson’s interception at the back, Leeds drove forward through Adam Forshaw, who played it into Hernandez who then found Alioski on the turn. The Macedonian international moved forwards with the ball before unleashing a venomous effort from around 20-yards out, which forced David Raya into his first real save of the game, as the Spaniard wonderfully tipped the ball over the bar for a corner, which came to nothing.
From Rovers’ claim of the corner, they built up an attack which led to Ryan Nyambe trying to cross the ball in from the right-hand side, however unfortunately for Bell, Dack and Graham, who were in the middle, Nyambe’s low cross went towards the near-post and was comfortably claimed by Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
The game blew into action from this point onwards, as on the 30th minute, Hernandez again tried to strike from range, but saw his effort again, blocked.
On the 33rd minute, the deadlock was finally broken and although the goal came in favour of the hosts, it was Derrick Williams who supplied the finish. After a long passage of Leeds passing, which saw Darragh Lenihan dragged out of his position as Williams filled in for him, the ball was slipped through to Jack Harrison, who fizzed in a wicked low cross that had the left-back in a tangle, as he inadvertently tapped the ball past Raya to give Leeds, the 1-0 lead.
Rovers restarted the game looking to strike back immediately, as on the 35th minute, Bradley Dack found space on the edge of the area, before seeing his shot narrowly sneak wide of Peacock-Farrell’s upright.
Seconds later, David Raya saw his crossbar rattled after Alioski’s attempt from inside the box narrowly avoided the top corner and cannoned back into play off the bar.
Alioski again, this time on the 42nd minute, tried to put his side further ahead with an audacious attempted overhead-kick from just outside the area, however despite his acrobatics, he wasn’t rewarded, as Raya comfortably claimed the effort.
With the break looming, Jack Rodwell saw his name go into the book after he fouled Hernandez inside Rovers’ half.
After a solitary minute of time being added onto the end of the first-half, the period ended with Leeds, not only a goal ahead, but also in the ascendency when considering the overall picture of the game.
The half-time team talks at the break would have been ones that would have been conducted extremely carefully by both managers, Leeds due to the expectations placed on them and the demand for them not to end the game like it had done at Ewood Park and Rovers simply because they were behind.
From the home dressing room, it can be imagined that although Marcelo Bielsa would have been somewhat content with his side’s slender advantage, he would have been unhappy with their overall play and their failure to be ahead by more than the 1 goal, considering their dominance of the ball.
Tony Mowbray however, like his counterpart, would have also been content, but for different reasons. Although Rovers went behind to an unfortunate own goal, their overall defensive play was relatively solid, as Leeds would have been expected to have had more of the game due to them being the home side. One thing that would have annoyed the boss, though, would have been Rovers’ lack of threat on Leeds’ goal, something they no doubt looked to rectify in the second-half.
As both sides re-emerged for the second-half, Rovers got the game back underway and immediately managed to get themselves back level as they were awarded a penalty on the 46th minute following a foul by Leeds captain, Luke Ayling on Rovers’ skipper, Mulgrew. An early Rovers free-kick saw the ball lofted into the box which led to the skipper being scythed down by Ayling, which gave the referee no choice but to award a penalty. Mulgrew himself stood up to take the penalty and despite the whistles and boos from behind the goal, the Scot comfortably dispatched the spot-kick to the ‘keepers left-hand side to draw Rovers level at 1-1.
On the 51st minute, Jack Harrison tried his luck on goal, but found his effort well blocked by Lenihan.
The first change of the afternoon came Leeds’ way as Harrison was replaced by Jack Clarke on the hour mark.
Following the change, Leeds again came on the attack with Alioski who once more, tried to place a shot past Raya, however the Spaniard, not for the first time in the game, had the Macedonian’s number as he claimed the ball.
Moments after Raya’s save, Ryan Nyambe, who had been down receiving treatment, was withdrawn and replaced by Harrison Reed, who slotted in at right-back, for Rovers’ first change of the game.
With 67 minutes gone, Rovers arguably had their best chance of the game thus far, to take the lead. Dack’s strong running from midfield saw him find Reed who was making a similar run on the right flank. The on-loan midfielder-turned-full-back put in a low cross that was aimed at both Danny Graham and Adam Armstrong who were lurking in the penalty area. The ball reached Graham whose effort bounced to Armstrong after being blocked, but Armstrong’s follow-up effort was also blocked, which gave Leeds the chance to clear.
On the 69th minute, Mateusz Klich tried to curl an effort towards goal, but he found the stand rather than the back of Raya’s goal.
Following the stoppage for the goal-kick, both sides made their second changes of the game. Leeds brought on Jamie Shackleton for Luke Ayling, whilst Rovers introduced Richie Smallwood in-place of Jack Rodwell.
3 minutes following the substitutions, Kemar Roofe nearly put his side back into the lead with a solid header from near the penalty spot, however Raya made a brilliant diving save to deny the striker, before Lenihan was able to clear.
On the 75th minute, Adam Armstrong was replaced by Joe Rothwell in Rovers’ final change, as Tony Mowbray looked to introduce fresh legs and some pace to the game.
Moments after coming on, Rothwell was fouled by Barry Douglas, which led to the Scot picking up a booking for his troubles.
The 78th minute saw Smallwood loft a free-kick into the area, which allowed Darragh Lenihan to connect to it. Unfortunately for the centre-half, he couldn’t replicate his goalscoring touch of the home fixture back in October, as his header looped over the bar.
On the 85th minute, Forshaw forced Raya into a save after the former Middlesbrough man tried to find the net from distance.
Lenihan was soon booked following a challenge on Klich that the referee allowed advantage for.
As the closing stages of the game approached, Rovers, on the 89th minute, earnt a free-kick following a strong run by Joe Rothwell that saw the midfielder brought down by Kalvin Phillips who was booked as a result. The subsequent free-kick was then the cause of mass pandemonium in the away end as Charlie Mulgrew stepped up and coolly dispatched the set-piece beyond a poorly positioned, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, from around 25 yards out to make it 2-1 to Rovers, which sparked scenes of jubilation in the away end from both the players and fans as even David Raya came up to celebrate with the travelling contingency.
Rovers’ celebrations were cut short however, less than a minute later as a goalmouth scramble saw Leeds and Kemar Roofe awarded an equaliser. A cross from the right-hand side saw Pontus Jansson’s header brilliantly saved by David Raya, however he couldn’t hold onto the ball as Pablo Hernandez tried to squeeze home the equaliser which was scooped off the line by a combination of Raya and Lenihan. The third attempt by Roofe was again superbly denied by Reed and Raya on the line, however it was deemed, due to goalline technology, that the ball had indeed crossed the line, which levelled the scoring at 2-2.
As Rovers prepared to take the kick-off, it was announced that 4 minutes of added time would be added onto the end of the game, which spurred the home crowd into an enthusiastic roar.
The fun for Leeds, however, didn’t stop at 2-2, as they continued to push for the winner during the remaining 3 minutes, before finally breaking Rovers down and securing it through Roofe, who grabbed his second of the game in clearer fashion than he had, his first. A poorly cleared free-kick by Rovers allowed Leeds to continue piling the pressure forwards straight away. A cross soon came in from the right-hand side again, which allowed Roofe the time to get ahead of, and to outjump Lenihan, before using the pace of the ball to guide it beyond the rooted David Raya to make it 3-2 to the home side, completely turn the game on its head and send Elland Road into frenzy of celebration, leaving the 1,378 Rovers fans in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.
Once normality resumed, the full-time whistle was blown imminently after kick-off was taken by Steve Martin, which was met by a delighted, but relieved roar from the home support.
As someone who was watching on in the away end, it’s hard to sum up any feelings following what can only be described as, a ‘rollercoaster’ final 10 minutes. From the pure elation of Mulgrew’s free-kick to having, what was probably, a ‘tipsy’ Leeds fan hilariously begin to swear in my direction, (despite not being provoked), following their third goal, the nerve-wracking, but also simultaneously exhilarating experience was probably worth the arm and a leg of the ticket price, despite the loss and the fact I spent the game crouching, due to my seat giving me a lovely view of the commentary gantry(!).
Away from my complaints regarding the commentary box, the game itself was one of many perspectives; Leeds dominated, Rovers retaliated, Rovers weren’t good enough, Leeds showed their class and so on. My view? Yes, Leeds were good, and although they were unbeaten their last 6 games, and dominated the first-half, I didn’t think that they played as good as they had been doing over the past couple of weeks, and there can be an argument to suggest that Norwich, last week, played better than they did in this game. Whether that was down to them having an ‘off-day’ or Rovers defending well – ironic, yes – one cannot say for sure. Although they dominated the game in terms of possession and shots, there’s an argument to suggest that based on Rovers’ second-half performance, the players were of value for more than the defeat.
The second-half performance from Mowbray’s men was more recognisable with the side that has been playing over the past 18 months. They attacked with more pace, more passion and more desire than they did in the first-half, when they were given the opportunity, and could have arguably gone ahead through the likes of Armstrong on the 67th minute, for example, who saw his shot blocked. The transitional play in the second period was much more recognisable, but the defensive effort during the final 10 minutes, was not. Touching upon the defence, there is an argument to suggest that Paul Downing was unfairly dropped following Lenihan’s return to fitness and based on the fact that – arguably – the first and third goals came due to Lenihan’s poor positioning – the first due to him unnecessarily being on the right, thus causing Williams to tuck in which led to the own goal, and the third due to Roofe getting ahead of him on the leap – Downing must be wondering what he has to do in order to have an extended run in the side
The lack of concentration – and perhaps fitness – from the players following Mulgrew’s free-kick was inexcusable, maybe their celebrations were unnecessarily overexuberant, when they really should have been focusing on getting back to the centre circle and preparing for a guaranteed onslaught? Despite many fans coming into the game not expecting anything from it, it’s possible to suggest that many would have realistically taken a 2-2 draw on reflection, however the failure to keep composure and subsequently concede a third, regardless of the amount of pressure Leeds put on them, was fairly disheartening, especially due to the fact the it’s the third game running in which the players have dropped points in such a manner. Some people, albeit foolishly, have been calling for Mowbray’s head, as a result of these late goals, however the reality of the situation is that playing 2 of the best teams in the league back-to-back, (Norwich and Leeds), is no easy task, particularly when you have 5 games in the space of 12 days; (Norwich, Leeds, Sheff Utd, West Brom and Newcastle in the FA Cup). One thing is for sure however, and that is, reinforcements are needed in the January window, whether that being naturally defensive minded players, or proper wingers, we wait in anticipation.
After that disappointing end to a dramatic game, Rovers are now sat in 14th with a -6 goal difference whilst also being seemingly frozen on 31 points from 24 games.
As hinted at above, Rovers’ next game sees them face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on the 29th December at 3pm, before hosting West Bromwich Albion in their first game of 2019, at 3pm on New Year’s Day. Once Chris Wilder and Darren Moore’s teams are out of the way, Rovers make the trip up to Newcastle to face Rafa Benítez’s Magpies in the 3rd round of the FA Cup on the 5th January, with kick-off scheduled for 5:30pm.
