The turn of the year is associated with resolutions, new beginnings, and social anxiety to improve oneself. Leeds United was in the mood for none, having already exorcised its away form demons over Christmas. Two away wins were followed by a relatively uninspired 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road.
Should Leeds have seen out the result, your author was going to lead with an SEO-friendly version of “Who Needs Forwards When We Have Struijkers?” given the Dutchman’s late penalty goal. Alas, that and the win were scuppered.
Despite the clock ticking over a new year, it was the same old Farke-ball. Possession is heavy, and there are not enough clear-cut chances compared to said possession…
Eighty-eight minutes in, that’s not a problem. Pascal had seemingly sorted the result from the spot. From what could have been described as a placid performance, it would have been forgiven with three points. Full-time, nope. 1-1.
Yet, it was not the German manager’s fault that the Rovers equalized. A collective shambles from Ilan Meslier and all defensive players could not deal with a set-piece.
Blackburn retained the ball yards out from the net so Danny Batth could thump it in from close range. Ten minutes of added time followed, yet nothing of note happened to trouble the Leeds United news writers.
A bit of unforgiving poetry on the day that former captain and CB Liam Cooper was paraded around the ground at half-time in appreciation of his services to the club…that such a poor goal was conceded.
That’s not to say that Farke was faultless. The substitutions prior to the penalty raised plenty of eyebrows.
Manor Soloman, who had been having a fine game and was in the midst of a purple patch, was taken off for Patrick Bamford for the last 20 minutes… wtf. Largie Ramazani was on the bench too!
In totality and the grand scheme of the season, dropping these points isn’t desirable. Yet, with other results seemingly going against the chasing pack, Leeds will stay atop the EFL Championship standings. The festive Leeds United fixtures have concluded, and the club is coming out on top.
Leeds United’s schedule now pits them against Hull City on Saturday in a fiery Yorkshire derby. (If Hull is considered Yorkshire, it’s a sore subject for many).
The Mighty Whites won their last match against Hull in August with a 2-0 score. Hull has had a very lackluster campaign and will be seen as another away victory target for Farke.
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