Leeds United had been asked to take care of business in the aftermath of Saturday’s jarring loss to Southampton and, regardless of the circumstances, take care of it they did. If last weekend was the classic Championship reality check, last night was the bread and butter of a 46-match season that requires hard yards and results when your play isn’t quite clicking into gear.
There’s little time or space for perfect performances of refined edges in tactical plans in the Championship. It’s blood, thunder, taking your three points however they come and moving on.
Last night’s clash with Queens Park Rangers had borne the hallmarks of a five or six-goal romp for the hosts through the opening half an hour. Crysencio Summerville’s ninth-minute opener was everything everyone needed to settle nerves after the Hampshire horrorshow and a second goal seemed an inevitability.
The Dutch winger, Archie Gray, Luke Ayling and Georginio Rutter were finding particular joy down the right flank and cutting QPR open with their attacks. As it happens, a second shot on target would not materialise until after the 70th minute.
The territory and possession were there, but final deliveries and clinical finishing were badly lacking. The rut only seemed to get bigger the harder Leeds tried to wrestle this event away from the Londoners.
Half-time was expected to be a chance to reset from Daniel Farke, but, if anything, QPR gained a stronger foothold in the game after the break and the Whites struggled to find their rhythm again. Gareth Ainsworth’s side were so limited, however, there was never any sustained threat to Illan Meslier’s goal.
It was not perfect and there were long, frustrating passages of the game, but the bottom line is Leeds bounced back from last weekend with three points and another, vital clean sheet. It’s a platform for Saturday.
Patrick Bamford has been a lightning rod for criticism and a target for fierce criticism over the past two years of general decline at Elland Road. The England striker has never been able to really get himself going over a sustained period of time for more than two years.
The nadir of that spell surely hit towards the back end of last term when online abuse turned into sinister death threats which, ultimately, forced him off X (Twitter) for good. Under the fresh guidance of Farke and with the talent around to give him space to work his way back patiently, Bamford’s impact is being closely watched.
The 30-year-old was decent from the bench last night. He looked sharp, he ran the channels for the 35 minutes he played, got in behind more than once and forced a save from Asmir Begovic.
This was not the blunted, heavy-legged, cumbersome cameo we sometimes saw from Bamford last term. He looked a real option for Farke and, set against the up-and-down backdrop of Rutter and Joel Piroe’s partnership, there are big selection questions massing on the horizon for Farke.
It’s impossible to ignore the red card. In real-time, it looked like a stonewall dismissal and free-kick for the Whites following a rash challenge from Begovic. The first few replays swiftly softened that stance.
Then the closer, slower reruns came and it became clear just why Begovic was so incensed by the decision. Ainsworth would later suggest Bamford’s explanation was not a dive to see the goalkeeper sent off, but an attempt to avoid imminent contact with Begovic.
It’s never boring with Bamford. We can give him that.
