Swansea City                0                                                                       

Leeds United                 4 (Summerville 8, Piroe 10, Gnonto 35, 72)      

 

13th February, 2024, EFL Championship

17,897.

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It doesn’t get much better than that does it? Well, I suppose the weather could have been kinder to us but we seem to relish the rain these days! Once again Leeds totally dominated the game and reduced Swansea to the role of spectators for much of the game. Going ahead so early inevitably deflated the players and fans of the home side and getting a second after only ten minutes and seeing that it was their old talisman Joel Piroe that scored it must have felt like a dagger to the heart. Many Swansea fans upped and left at that point.

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For a while now I’ve been convinced that there are only three decent sides in the Championship this season – Leicester, Saints, and ourselves – and the rest are all pretty much of a muchness. Yes, Leeds are playing so well at the moment we are making all teams look poor but, in reality, they are poor – just as Birmingham, Cardiff, Rotherham, etc. also are.

The Swans manager told reporters after the game that he set them up to press but they “were too timid to apply anywhere near enough pressure on them and paid the price. We came out second best too many times and with space, quality players will unpick you." And that is pretty much the story of the game. Leeds were quicker, pressed more tightly, and were far more clinical when offered chances than we often have been this season. As Daniel Farke said after the game it was: “perhaps the best execution of a game plan this season.” and it really was.

From the very start Leeds were on the front foot and Swansea looked shell-shocked at what they were facing. Surely teams know by now what Crysencio Summerville is going to do don’t they? But still the Swans let him maraud down the left, cut inside and fire at goal. OK, he got a bit of luck this time when the ball cannoned off a defender and into the net, wrong-footing the keeper but, as they say, if you don’t buy a ticket you ain’t gonna win the raffle. Leeds bought tickets all night.

With Patrick Bamford suffering an injury in the warm-up, his place was amply filled by Joel Piroe and, playing in his more accustomed central striking role he showed exactly what he used to do regularly for the Swans. Joe Rodon played the ball out of defence to Willy Gnonto and the little pocket rocket was away. He touched the ball inside and Piroe, one touch with his left and then a thunderbolt with his right, powered a shot through the keeper.

It was all too much for the Swans and far too much for their weary supporters who left in numbers at that point – either to the concourse for a beer or three or home, I’m not sure which. R=The game was as good as done by the 35th minute – perhaps ought to have been sooner had Willy Gnonto converted another good chance when, out of the blue Leeds were three against one at the back. This time the keeper pulled off a good save. But in the that 35th minute Archie Gray cliped the ball forward and Willy broke that flimsy back line again and this time, have turned Ben Cabango inside out, he fired crisply into the corner. 3 – 0 , game over.

Swansea inevitably had more of the ball in the second half but did very little with it and much like Rotherham on Saturday, they had only 7 goal attempts all game and only two of those hit the target. For Leeds it was a much better ‘efficiency’ ratio, hitting the target 8 times from 13 attempts and four of them striking gold of course. The fourth, on 72 minutes was another classic Leeds 2024 goal. Gruev and Rutter pressed on the Leeds right, eventually causing the ball to spill forward and Cree Summerville raced after it, overtaking his marker in the process before sliding it through for his mate Willy Gnonto to race onto. Once again, the pace we showed was far too much for the Swansea back line and Willy was through and he despatched the shot perfectly into the corner in front of his adoring Leeds fans.

And, with the news filtering through that Saints were going down at Bristol where we won only a few weeks ago, it was celebration time in the Leeds end. We have finally wrestled that second place from the Saints and Ipswich and, though there is much work still to do, it is Leeds and Leicester who now look the prime candidates for automatic promotion. I had a sneaking feeling that Bristol might get points of Southampton but never dreamed the night would be as good as this! All eyes now on Friday night when Saints face another tough game at West Brom while we face another long trip to Plymouth. It will also be fascinating to see how Ipswich get on here at Swansea in another big game for them. Same again please Leeds… can it really continue as good as this?

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