Leeds United 2-0 Derby County: YEP reaction

Yorkshire Evening Post

Transcript

00:00Hello there, Lee Sobot at the Yorkshire Evening Post here from Ellon Road where Leeds United

00:07have returned back to the top of the Championship with, it's got to be said, a very, very easy

00:122-0 victory against a disappointing Derby County team who took until the 80th minute

00:18to have their first shot on target. Ironic cheers inside the ground when they finally

00:22mustered up that and they had another one shortly afterwards, although I'm not even

00:25sure that was classed as a shot in the end ahead of the LMLEAE they gathered, but just

00:29complete one-way traffic here in the end as Leeds United recorded a 2-0 victory, which

00:34I say has put them back onto top spot and it's now over to Sheffield United on Sunday

00:39with their fixture away at West Brom. Obviously see how that one goes, but whatever happens

00:45with that one, this is going to put Leeds in the, well it does put Leeds in the automatic

00:49promotion spots and we'll leave them there after this weekend's games, courtesy of Burnley's

00:541-1 draw against Middlesbrough on Friday night and they look like two good teams going toe

00:59to toe and Leeds really here look like a team, you know, basically, it looked like two teams

01:05in two different divisions to be quite honest and Derby were very disappointing off a very

01:09very little and really it was just a case of getting through that frustrating sort of

01:13first half an hour stroke 40 minutes when Leeds dominated possession as you kind of

01:18expected they would, but weren't able to break through. Joe Roden probably missed the best

01:22chance sending a header over the bar, he did well to get a free header, good movement,

01:27you know, point back when you send it over and just listen to his post-match interview

01:30he said basically felt like he had a bit too much time to think about it because he then

01:34scored with what was probably a harder chance, his first goal for the club. It's been strange

01:39actually to think that's his first goal for Leeds because he gets forward, he's obviously

01:43going to be a massive threat at corners with his, you know, how tall he is and his physique

01:46and everything, but finally that was his first goal, header from a Rothwell corner, keeper

01:50got a touch to it but just couldn't keep it out. That was 1-0, that was the breakthrough,

01:55straight away Leeds went for the juggler, went for a second and of all people Max Verba

01:59getting the second goal, again with his first goal for the club, so a defender double and

02:03two people with their first goals for Leeds United to get the goals and then put this

02:09team away, that was 2-0. Verba only on the pitch because the junior Firpo went off injured,

02:15so that's obviously one blow here and we'll wait and see what the situation is for Firpo,

02:18he was an injury doubt before the game after a knock to the foot in training, so I think

02:23a few people thought he might be out but it soon became apparent he was here and he started

02:28but didn't last very long, I think it was midway through the first half where we noticed

02:33he was pointing, holding the back of his leg, went down needing treatment, he actually pointed

02:37to the bench himself and it was pretty clear then that he was coming off and Verba went

02:40on and that's what happened and I've got to say Max Verba did very, very well at left

02:43back, he's obviously, well firstly obviously there was a situation about him leaving the

02:47club etc, one of the lone escapees, but it's been the same with Aronson, he's back here

02:50now, he's a Leeds player, so you've got to sort of get behind him and he is a centre

02:55back obviously by trade but he has played left back as well and to my eye there's no

02:59doubt that he could and should be able to hold down the left back spot here if needed,

03:03it obviously depends what happens with Firpo, but he's a good defender but not just that,

03:07he also gets forward and he's not really known for getting forward but he does actually get

03:11forward and hence he got the second goal here which came from Brendan Aronson's cross, Aronson

03:18obviously under the spotlight a lot in terms of not scoring or creating enough chances

03:23but he kept himself busy, he was always popping up left, right and centre and kept going like

03:27he always does and he sent a cross through the area which Verba netted from close range,

03:35fine pass from Pascal Stroot, from Roden I think it was actually to start off that move

03:38for Dan James to play it then to Aronson down that side and yeah that was 2-0 at half time

03:44and I mean it felt done, it's only two goals but I mean the gulf was way bigger than two goals

03:50between the two sides in the first half really and the only, well one of the only disappointing

03:54things I suppose obviously the Firpo injury is that Leeds couldn't add to the tally in the second

03:58half and they certainly had the chances to do it, Darby's keeper had a very very good game,

04:04he was the only player who played any good for Darby but for him Leeds would have scored 3-4 or 5

04:09but probably you know might well be important in such a tight division at the top depending on

04:13what happens at the end of the season but the goal difference is better as it stands anyway

04:17than everybody else's but you know just probably could and should have boosted it a little bit more

04:22here but it's job done, I felt like they had to win today really, it did really feel like a must

04:26win game, it's very early in the season but there's no doubt that there's a group of teams

04:30looking like they're going to pull away, Leeds obviously being one of those, obviously along

04:35with Sheffield United, Burnley and Borough as I say looked very good sides on Friday evening,

04:39Borough have got a bit of work to do but you won't write them off and that's going to be an

04:42absolutely enormous game here on Tuesday evening now when Leeds play Borough, you know basically

04:48need to beat them and try and get some distance between them because I know Borough are a bit

04:52further down than the other sides but there's no doubt they're capable of mounting a challenge

04:57for the top two, I don't know if there's any doubt about that so they've got to be very wary of that

05:00one on Tuesday evening and that's going to be a massive game here under the Ellen Road lights.

05:05Sunderland got a last minute, well not last minute, fairly late winner so it's still very

05:09close at the top, the top four with Sunderland fourth so as I say it felt like there was no

05:16real room margin for error here and they got the job done and obviously bounced back from defeat

05:21as well, you know that defeat at Blackburn Rovers was very very disappointing, the away form is

05:25obviously the thing that's letting Leeds down, that's seven wins on the bounce here at Ellen Road now

05:30which is some record really when you think about it, I mean it's all very well just

05:33expecting Leeds to win when they're at home but they've got to go out and

05:36actually do it and they have done that and seven straight wins at Ellen Road takes some doing and

05:40let's hope they can make it eight next Tuesday night but it'll be a lot lot harder against

05:44Middlesbrough. I don't want to disrespect Derby or anything because they've obviously

05:48had a few good results this season and they're back in this division after going up from

05:52League One but they just look miles off it compared to Leeds today and as I say when it's 2-0

05:59you never really know but it just felt like there was no way they were going to come

06:03back into the game after it was 2-0. I think Leeds were 1-250 and running at half time and

06:09under Bucky's and to be honest that sounds about right, I don't think you can really argue with that

06:12and that definitely proved the case so yeah job done, we'll wait and see what happens with Firpo's

06:17injury, tight turnaround now obviously ahead of the game against Borough and in the meantime

06:23all Leeds fans will be West Brom fans cheering on Carlos Corberan on Sunday against

06:27Chef United. West Brom haven't got a very good record at home, I think they've lost five games at home

06:31which is quite surprising but they do draw a lot of games and even a draw would do Leeds fine and

06:36that one obviously that would put Chef U back top but it would ultimately mean points dropped for

06:40them so you know it's hard to call at the moment, Leeds are odds on favourites for the title, they

06:46have been for ages, they're very very long odds on to get promoted, whether there should be quite

06:50that short remains to be seen but you know they've got the job done here today, that was the main

06:55thing and they just looked you know as I say miles better and now it'll just come down to you

07:00know consistency really and two things I suppose, consistency keeping up this record at Elland Row

07:05but ultimately improving away from home as well and we all know what's just around the corner

07:09with another trip over at Burnhines to Preston on Saturday, yet another lunchtime game, also that's

07:15broken the curse somewhat of these lunchtime games, finally a win in a lunchtime kickoff

07:20so that's good to see, now they need to go and do another one at Preston, that'll be a huge game

07:23next Saturday with a load of Leeds fans travelling over to that one, about 5,000 again so no doubt

07:29there'll be more chaos going over there, obviously had the stormy conditions here, see there's like

07:34bits and bobs floating around, it's not actually too bad in the stands at the moment but you could

07:38tell with the wind it was like some of the goal kicks were crazy just coming back you know towards

07:41Melier and also the Derby keeper but yeah I mean you know as I say, stormed that where it was but

07:47the only thing that was blown away in the end here was Derby County, 2-0 but it was a lot more

07:51comfortable than that, finished here, Leeds United are top of the division, Leeds United 2, Derby County 0.

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