Leeds United established daylight at the top of the Championship once again, as they returned to the summit after edging past Millwall.
They did just enough at Elland Road to see off the Bermondsey outfit, confirming the points late on with a second.
Advantage
The Whites had the beauty of playing 24 hours after their promotion rivals, and they will have been delighted with the results on Tuesday evening. West Brom, who Leeds dropped points against earlier in March, continued their unbeaten run against the top three by holding Burnley to a draw. That result was replicated at Bramall Lane as Bristol City scored late to hold Sheffield United.
Any early nerves inside Elland Road were killed instantly, as Millwall’s decent start lasted all of three minutes as Leeds scored from their first meaningful attack. Try as they might, a second just wouldn’t arrive, though Joel Piroe did have the ball in the net, but the flag went up. There was some superb interplay between Dan James and Ao Tanaka before the Whites top scorer fired into the roof of the net; replays showed that the offside call may have been incorrect.
Early in the second period, Manor Solomon cannoned an effort off the woodwork following a weaving run into the area. Brenden Aaronson’s dipping volley was narrowly off target, while Solomon hit an effort wide as Leeds just couldn’t find a second. That was until six minutes to go, when Junior Firpo showed great awareness to pick up Tanaka, who expertly guided the ball into the top corner.
Keepers
The spotlight had been on the Lions’ backup keeper Liam Roberts in recent weeks, but it was Lukas Jensen who made the early headlines yesterday evening. Piroe released Solomon down the left, and his low ball into the box took a nick off Jake Cooper. But it was Lukas Jensen’s touch that sent the ball spiralling over the goal line, giving Leeds the lead out of nothing.
Illan Meslier has also come under huge criticism throughout the campaign for his errors, but he was merely a spectator for most of the night. He was forced to claw a cross behind for a corner, but didn’t have a shot to save in the ninety minutes as the Whites kept a clean sheet for the first time in a month.
Writer’s View
This was far from a thriller, demonstrated by just two shots on target. That isn’t even close to telling the full story though, as Leeds dominated for the majority of the game but just could not find the elusive second until Tanaka delivered it in style. That’s the first of ten cup finals done for Leeds as they look to hold their nerve this time around.
