Leeds able to cling on for important win over Middlesbrough

National World - LocalTV

Daniel Wales and Charles Hague-Jones discuss Leeds United’s win over Middlesbrough.

Transcript

00:00Dan, looking at Leeds United and the run-in,

00:04obviously we mentioned the pressure at the very, very top

00:08of the Championship lately.

00:10They have won the game away at Middlesbrough,

00:12a massive win in the context of the Championship.

00:16But obviously the form going into it with three draws on the bounce,

00:19things, maybe questions are starting to be answered, obviously.

00:24QPR away a draw, Swansea at home, Luton away,

00:27teams that you probably should be winning if you're going to,

00:29you know, win the Championship.

00:31They want to obviously be champions.

00:32They don't want automatics.

00:34If they can avoid, obviously, the playoffs, they'll take automatic.

00:37But, you know, getting that Championship medal is so important

00:40for confidence and, you know, to look back on the season

00:43and really remember it well.

00:44You know, Burnley, Sheffield United,

00:46the race up there has been brilliant all season.

00:49Can lead to push away now, do you feel?

00:51What do you sort of take from this game away at Middlesbrough?

00:54How, you know, impressive was their win there

00:57and how important could it actually prove to be?

01:00In the race for the Premier League.

01:02Very important because after the weekend, you know,

01:05they were feeling quite down, quite dejected.

01:08Certainly things hadn't gone their way for a few weeks.

01:11They only won, I think, one and five up until this point.

01:15But then they go to the Riverside with a bit of low confidence.

01:19But then two minutes in, they take the lead through Dan James

01:21and everything suddenly seems rosy again.

01:24And not only that, obviously, they hang on to win the game.

01:26I'll come on to that in a moment.

01:27But the teams around them, drop points, you know, Sheffield United,

01:32they lost at home to Millwall, a huge result of that.

01:35And Burnley joined 0-0 away at lowly Derby County as well,

01:39which put Leeds from the way in third.

01:41And now they're back top again, albeit only on goal difference to Burnley.

01:44So the swings and roundabouts in the championship season,

01:47especially at the top at the moment, are quite unbelievable.

01:49You know, it's just interchanging constantly with teams, you know,

01:52dropping from maybe second to third or maybe third to first or whatnot.

01:55But it was a really, really important night for Leeds

01:58after what had been a few disappointing weeks draws

02:00against the likes of Queen's Park Rangers and Swansea City, for example,

02:04that had re-demoralised them a little bit.

02:06After such highs against Sunderland and Sheffield United,

02:08they then were brought back down to earth with quite a bit of a bum.

02:11And Portsmouth, you could add into that as well, the loss at Fratton Park.

02:15But the game itself, I think Leeds were very much good value

02:18for the win at Riverside.

02:19Middlesbrough certainly themselves would be disappointed

02:21that they didn't maybe get anything out of it.

02:23I mean, let's be honest, Leeds were the better side,

02:25but Middlesbrough, they had moments as well.

02:27They put pressure on Leeds, but Leeds, I think,

02:29was good value for it.

02:30And actually, despite Dan James' early goal,

02:32Leeds put the ball in the back of the net twice after that.

02:35Ayo Tanaka scoring and Patrick Bamford also putting it into the net.

02:38And both goals ruled out for offside.

02:42And, well, both of them on replays were shown to be onside.

02:47So it's tough to take for Leeds, that one,

02:50in terms of what was going on at the time.

02:52Probably made it a bit more nervous for them.

02:54But they hung on and they got the job done

02:57and they've gone back top.

02:58It's fantastic for them.

02:59But it's just for Borough, though, they're still in the playoffs,

03:02but, of course, they're on 60 points,

03:06but Coventry behind them, a game in hand

03:07and only a point behind as well.

03:09So for Borough, at least,

03:10not the best night they'll have had this season,

03:13but certainly there's lots to play for still for them.

03:15Yeah, let's just touch on Dan James.

03:17I mean, he's been in fantastic form,

03:19obviously away in the international break,

03:21scoring for Wales as well.

03:23Back-to-back goals now in this run-in.

03:25You know, so many assists this season,

03:28almost matching his tally throughout the campaign

03:32with 10 less games played.

03:34How important has he been for Leeds United this season?

03:36Obviously, 27 years of age, he's coming to his forefront

03:40and he's really helping their push towards the top flight.

03:43Well, you couldn't have picked a more valuable goal

03:45than the one he scored last night.

03:47And to be fair to Dan James,

03:48he's popped up with that type of goal all season.

03:52Really important ones at really important moments.

03:54Leeds have an abundance of attacking talent

03:57on the wings as well.

03:58And you'd think that Dan James might actually be out-favoured

04:01at times a little bit,

04:02but actually he's the one who at times pops up

04:05in the right place at the right time

04:06to score them crucial goals.

04:07And credit to him, it's helped them out

04:10on an awful lot of occasions,

04:12certainly this game against Middlesbrough too.

04:13So very much a huge part of Leeds United's promotion push.

04:18It's now just, can they maintain any form of consistency

04:21from now until the end of the season?

04:22Because that's what will get them over the line.

04:24The lack of consistency in the last few weeks

04:26saw them drop from first down to third.

04:28And they had a bit of a points gap at the top as well.

04:30And then they lost that and then they dropped to third.

04:32But now they're back top again,

04:34albeit only on goal difference.

04:35But that win against Middlesbrough

04:36will do their confidence the world of good

04:38after what has been a tough few weeks for them.

04:40But they've got to remain consistent

04:42because if they don't, then they'll drop down again.

04:44Okay.

04:45Let's get spells out.

04:50Okay.

04:51Let's see.

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