Time to sign off, I’ll leave with you a roundup of all today’s Football League action. Thanks for reading me, and go easy on the eggs.
Gary Rowett: “Against Leeds, you can’t switch off for a second. The goal was a perfect example – that’s the challenge, you’ve got to be perfect. I thought we hung in there, put them under pressure – we’ve done everything we can, and made Leeds defend for their lives.
“I’m pretty proud of the performance, especially in the second half,” adds Rowett. Oxford probably need one more win to be sure of safety; they host Cardiff on Monday and would love to get the job done then.
Here’s Daniel Farke: “Like expected, really difficult. We wanted to score the second goal, because anything can happen. If you don’t bury the game, you have to show resilience. They sent all their centre-backs up, they used long throw-ins; we showed steel and we deserved to win. It’s not like you create a lot of chances here, look at their results.
“It’s a priceless three points for us. This league is relentless, you have to be relentless yourself. It’s not over, but we feel we have a good chance to do something amazing. Crazy things can happen, we have to fight for every point, and keep going.”
Some Leeds reaction: here’s player of the match Joe Rodon and the winning goal scorer, Manor Solomon.
Joe Rodon: “I thought we could have scored more in the first half, but we knew Oxford would make it very difficult and we worked so hard. The last couple of weeks we’ve just been focused on us, doing what we’ve been doing all season.”
Manor Solomon: “The three points are so important for us, the job’s not done yet we have to stay humble, but I can’t wait for Monday! Joe, what a man, what a player.”
What it means is that Leeds are back on top of the Championship, and five points clear of Sheffield United in third place. If they beat Stoke at Elland Road on Monday and the Blades fail to beat Burnley in the later game, then Leeds will seal automatic promotion.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 43 | 54 | 91 |
| 2 | Burnley | 43 | 45 | 91 |
| 3 | Sheff Utd | 43 | 26 | 86 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 43 | 18 | 76 |
| 5 | Bristol City | 43 | 10 | 67 |
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Full time: Oxford 0-1 Leeds
It wasn’t pretty, and Oxford made them work for it – but Leeds have the three points they desperately wanted, and are one step closer to the Premier League thanks to Manor Solomon’s fine first-half goal.
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96 mins: Guilavogui makes an important clearing header, but from another decent Leigh delivery, Mills gets above Firpo at the far post. He can’t keep his header down, and that may be that.
95 mins: Consternation from the home fans as a Bogle challenge goes unpunished, and further groans as El Mizouni is whistled for clattering into Bamford on the right touchline.
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94 mins: Josuha (yes, Josuha) Guilavogui is coming on for Aaronson, which I think means that Daniel Farke is pulling down the shutters.
93 mins: Helik in the box = panic in the box for Leeds, as Leigh’s deep cross is headed back into the danger area. Thankfully for the visitors, it travels just too far for a teammate in yellow to turn it in at the far post.
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91 mins: I think the tactical tweak Rowett has introduced is for gangly centre-back Michal Helik to play up top for the last few minutes. He almost latches on to a through ball, but Rodon makes an excellent challenge. He’s been terrific.
90 mins: Seven added minutes, good news only for Oxford fans, who are still backing their team noisily.
88 mins: Goodrham is replaced by Idris El Mizouni, who hands a note to one of his Oxford teammates. At this stage, surely it can only say “Get it in the mixer!” or something similar.
87 mins: Ooooof! Neutrals (and MBMers) who have stuck with this game almost get their reward, as Tanaka hits a cracker from 25 yards that skids low onto the far post. In fact, Jamie Cumming got a finger tip to the ball – that’s an excellent save.
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86 mins: Manor Solomon, scorer of the only goal thus far, is replaced by Isaac Schmidt. The Swiss international is usually a left-back, so we might see Junior Firpo pushed upfield.
85 mins: “Somehow, you’d imagine the well-spoken, erudite-sounding Patrick Bamford to do well at Oxford,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “But they’ve nightclubs there too, presumably.” I’m not sure, perhaps he should ask Patrick Kluivert.
83 mins: Another Vaulks long throw is dealt with, before Mills slips on the ball, allowing Rodon to canter downfield, eventually winning a free kick.
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82 mins: To be honest, I expected Leeds to pull away in this second half, but they’re still holding on to their one-goal lead. Oxford haven’t troubled them too much, but you know what they say.
81 mins: We’re back under way, and Bamford is penalised for a pointless shove under a high ball.
79 mins: Oxford make more changes, with Placheta replaced by Stanley Mills, who is Danny Mills’ son. The lively Alex Matos is also off, replaced by Tom Bradshaw.
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78 mins: Play continues but boos ring out from the home fans, who are urging the players to stop again. I think there’s a medical issue in the stand behind the goal, but can’t be certain.
77 mins: We’re able to resume after just a minute or so. The corner is overhit, and James can’t keep the ball in on the other side.
76 mins: Leeds have a corner, but play has been paused due to an incident at the other end of the ground. Not sure what exactly has happened.
75 mins: Piroe is going off, with Bamford coming on. Willy Gnonto’s night is also over, with Dan James replacing him. The winger has just recovered from a hamstring injury, and I bet Oxford’s weary back four are delighted to see him.
74 mins: Oxford are sticking to their task well, but Bogle and Aaronson link up down the right before the right-back’s shot is blocked by Nelson.
73 mins: Gruev’s cross towards Gnonto is dealt with; with Joel Piroe generally dropping deeper, aerial deliveries aren’t really the way to go.
72 mins: Patrick Bamford, Leeds’ best option to nick a goal since about 2014, is warming up on the touchline.
71 mins: The enterprising Bogle wins a corner which is headed up in the air and then punched away by Cumming, before Leeds are caught offside.
70 mins: Joe Rodon leads the charge as Leeds’ back four sprint out, leaving two or three Oxford players offside when the ball is played long.
68 mins: Karl Darlow dallies on the ball and is closed down by Matos, who looks to have won a corner – but Matos is penalised for fouling the keeper. Looks a harsh call to me.
67 mins: Gnonto has a go from 25 yards out, and his shot on the turn flies just wide of the far post.
65 mins: Ole Romeny comes on for Oxford, which is good news for Indonesia coach Kluivert, who hasn’t made a wasted journey. He’s on for Mark Harris, with Jamaica international Greg Leigh replacing Bennett at left-back.
63 mins: Tanaka sweeps a pass out wide to Solomon, who does well to control it with an outstretched boot. He cuts inside and crosses towards the far post, where Gnonto is denied by Ben Nelson. From the rebound, Firpo hits a rising missile that flies over the bar, and dangerously close to one of those van-dwelling Leeds fans.
62 mins: Gruev takes the free kick, about 30 yards out – it’s whipped straight at goal, but is easy for Cummings to gather. Oxford then break, and the Bulgarian races across to upend Matos, and pick up Leeds’ first yellow card of the game.
61 mins: A poor clearing kick from Cumming is seized upon by Aaronson, who is brought down by Helik. Leeds still have possession and numbers forward, but the referee stops play to show Helik a yellow card.
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60 mins: Bogle links up with Aaronson, who slips when crossing under pressure from Goodrham. Leeds starting to move through the gears again …
58 mins: Solomon gets out of a tight spot with a pass to Aaronson, who is brought down unceremoniously by Will Vaulks. That’s a second booking for the hosts.
56 mins: Leeds enjoy a spell of possession, Ampadu almost toying with Oxford’s attackers with his precise square passes. At the other end, Helik does well again to intercept with Junior Firpo advancing.
54 mins: Bennett combines with Goodrham, who is held up by Tanaka while Bogle gets back in place. Whenever I watch Leeds, Tanaka is so consistent and quietly impressive at what he does.
52 mins: Bogle brings the ball forward and finds Aaronson – and while he’s tackled well by Helik, the Leeds right-back is there to fire the rebound at goal. It flies a few feet wide of the far post; he might feel he could have done better.
50 mins: Matos jinks upfield but a heavy touch leads to him clipping Firpo’s heels. A free kick, but no yellow card from Dean Whitestone, who is not a favourite among the home faithful.
49 mins: Gnonto takes down Goodrham but the referee allows an advantage. The hosts would rather have had the free kick, and Bennett’s swirling cross is gathered by Darlow.
48 mins: Oxford are pushing further upfield in this second half, and the press gets to Ampadu, who had all the time in the world in the first half. Vaulks has the chance to launch a throw into the mixer, but it’s cleared.
46 mins: As discussed, Oxford’s ground is missing a stand at one end – and a few enterprising Leeds fans are stationed on van roofs and even a makeshift scaffold. They’ll miss these kind of away days if they make it up, and it’s the Vitality and Craven Cottage every other week.
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Second half
Here we go again – no changes at the break for either side.
The more I see the Leeds goal, the more I love it. Rodon’s standing close to the centre circle, sees Bogle’s run, and precisely two touches later, the ball’s in the net.
“I still think of Nightclub Patrick Kluivert’s nickname every time I see him,” writes Zach Neeley. Yes, he reportedly was a little too keen on the Tyneside nightlife while at Newcastle – given the success of Geordie Shore since, maybe NPK was ahead of his time.
Half time: Oxford 0-1 Leeds
One moment of real incisive quality, with Jayden Bogle crossing for Manor Solomon to earn Leeds a deserved lead. Oxford have been second-best, but they’re still in the game. More soon.
47 mins: Leeds continue to look menacing on the break, and Cumming has to race off his line to deal with a dangerous through ball.
46 mins: After Goodrham and Gnonto get tangled up in midfield, Leeds break away through Solomon, who looks to jet-heel past Long down the right – but the defender doesn’t rush out, instead shepherding the ball out of play.
44 mins: Can Oxford cause their opponents any trouble before half-time? There’ll be three added minutes.
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43 mins: Piroe unwittingly gets in the way of Gnonto’s attempted through ball to end a promising Leeds attack.
40 mins: Eek, this is a bit of a nasty one – Placheta stretches for the ball but kicks the onrushing Ampadu in the head. It looked accidental, and Ampadu is not badly hurt – but he can’t really complain about the yellow card that comes his way.
38 mins: This has felt more like a Cup tie than a league game, with underdogs Oxford a little unsure what to do now that Leeds have gone in front.
36 mins: Leeds have gone ahead in 48 Championship matches under Daniel Farke, and are yet to lose from a winning position. Oxford have a corner, and a chance to shake up that statistic – but Faulks’ shot is blocked and Placheta’s effort from the rebound is also into a crowd of Leeds players.
35 mins: Oxford win a free kick in Leeds territory, but are penalised for unnecessary jostling as the ball floats in.
GOAL! Oxford 0-1 Leeds (Solomon 32')
Leeds had started to work out the best way through this Oxford defence, and they do so in devastating fashion here. Bogle surges forward to connect with Rodon’s brilliant diagonal ball, and with options in the middle, picks out Manor Solomon at the far post, who applies the net-slapping finish.
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30 mins: Close! Leeds are capable of going through the gears quickly, and a long ball from Ampadu sees Solomon race past Long down the left. His cross evades the keeper but is cleared away by a defender with Piroe waiting to tap in.
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28 mins: We’re seeing Kluivert Sr because Vaulks has gone down injured, and needs a few moments to recover. Gary Rowett takes the opportunity to have a word with his other players.
25 mins: Patrick Kluivert, the Indonesia manager, is in the crowd tonight – and hoping to get a look at substitute striker Ole Romeny.
23 mins: Solomon has a yard of space on the left to either cross or have a shot from an angle – but Long gets back to block his effort, and the corner doesn’t come to anything.
21 mins: Leeds, who are defending the car-park end of this ground, have to back-pedal as Goodrham breaks away. Oxford decide to be patient and keep ball for a moment, a spell which ends when Goodrham can’t keep a long pass in play down the left.
20 mins: Tanaka’s shot is blocked acrobatically by Vaulks, with the thud of leather on thigh heard around the three sides of the Kassam Stadium.
18 mins: Placheta’s daisy-cutter from 20 yards is collected comfortably by Karl Darlow.
16 mins: Save! Aaronson links up with Piroe to unlock the Oxford defence, then fires low across Jamie Cumming, who gets down smartly to turn it away. Firpo collects at the byline, but ends up running the ball out of play to the home fans’ collective glee.
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15 mins: They almost make it happen here, with Firpo getting forward down the left and crossing low across the six-yard box, just failing to connect with Gnonto at the far post.
14 mins: Daniel Farke is engaged in animated conversation with his assistant. Leeds have struggled to create anything in the early stages.
11 mins: Alex Matos, who’s here on loan from Chelsea, makes another threatening run upfield but is short of attacking support.
9 mins: The Leeds kit colour is ‘noble ink’, according to the Adidas website. So there we have it.
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8 mins: Leeds manage to deal with a trademark Will Vaulks long throw, but the hosts have had the better start. Darlow did well to get down to that Brannagan effort, but had Placheta been able to reach the loose ball, it would have gone down as a handling error.
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7 mins: He carries it forward and finds Tyler Goodrham, whose cut-back finds Brannagan on the edge of the area. His curling effort is parried by Darlow, and just evades Placheta on the rebound!
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5 mins: Leeds are passing the ball around midfield, but Tanaka is robbed by Matos on Oxford’s left …
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3 mins: Now Leeds win a corner, which Oxford clear away as far as the halfway line. I’m not sure navy is the right word for this Leeds away kit. Cobalt maybe? Indigo?
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1 min: Oxford win a corner almost immediately, and it’s flicked on by Long at the near post. Harris nearly connects in the middle, but is flagged offside. Still, an early sign of what the hosts can do at set-pieces.
Kick off
Peep! Here we go, then. Leeds, making their first-ever visit to the Kassam Stadium, are in their navy third kit.
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Gary Rowett: “Having won against Sheffield United, another top, top team, it gives us confidence, but this is a very different test. It’s a question of ‘how do you stop them?’” On survival: “We’ll keep going until it’s done. We’ve come too far to let it slip now.”
Daniel Farke: “Gary’s sides are very well-structured, very pragmatic – it’s always pretty complicated against his teams. We are aware it’ll be a difficult challenge. We’ll focus on what we can influence, our own performance. We are focused, not nervous.”
Relegation battle: here are the bottom five’s remaining fixtures.
Hull (45pts) Preston (H), Derby (H), Portsmouth (A)
Derby (43) West Brom (H), Hull (A), Stoke (H)
Luton (43) Bristol City (H), Coventry (H), West Brom (A)
Cardiff (42) Oxford (H), West Brom (H), Norwich (A)
Plymouth (40) Coventry (H), Preston (A), Leeds (H)
The playoff race: Sunderland (76pts) are guaranteed a playoff place, while Bristol City and Coventry have the edge in the race with Middlesbrough for the final two top-six spots. West Brom and Millwall are in with an outside chance of making it in, and the Baggies could play a big part in deciding who goes down to League One.
Bristol City (67pts) Luton (A), Leeds (A), Preston (H)
Coventry (66) Plymouth (A), Luton (A), Boro (H)
Middlesbrough (63) Sheff Wed (A), Norwich (H), Coventry (A)
West Brom (60) Derby (H), Cardiff (A), Luton (H)
Millwall (60) Norwich (H), Swansea (H), Burnley (A)
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Title race run-in: Let’s have a look at the remaining games for the top three. If Burnley beat Sheffield United at home on Monday, they’ll be promoted; any other result and things could get complicated.
Burnley (91pts): Sheffield United (H), QPR (A), Millwall (H)
Leeds (88): Oxford (A), Stoke (H), Bristol City (H), Plymouth (A)
Sheffield Utd (86): Burnley (A), Stoke (A), Blackburn (H)
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Full time: Sheffield United 2-0 Cardiff City
Goals in each half from Gustavo Hamer and Ben Brereton Díaz get the Blades back to winning ways, and two points behind Leeds in second place. As for Cardiff, they’re second-bottom on 42 points and are running out of games to get out of trouble.
No changes from Daniel Farke from the side that saw off Preston at home last Saturday, while Oxford make two changes from the team that won at Sheffield Wednesday. Poland international Przemyslaw Placheta replaces Stanley Mills on the right, with Mark Harris starting up front in place of Tom Bradshaw.
At Bramall Lane, Sheffield United have just gone 2-0 up at home to Cardiff, Ben Brereton Díaz the man on target. Chris Wilder’s side will move two points behind Leeds, and just turn up the pressure a notch before kick-off at the Kassam.
Team news
Oxford United (4-2-3-1): Cumming; Long, Helik, Nelson, Bennett; Brannagan, Vaulks; Placheta, Matos, Goodrham; Harris.
Subs: Ingram, Phillips, Romeny, El Mizouni, Rodrigues, Leigh, Kioso, Bradshaw, Mills.
Leeds United (4-2-3-1): Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Tanaka, Gruev; Gnonto, Aaronson, Solomon; Piroe.
Subs: Meslier, Byram, Schmidt, Wober, Guilavogui, James, Ramazani, Joseph, Bamford.
Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire)
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Preamble
It’s a marathon, not a sprint – but this season’s Championship promotion race has felt more like an Ironman endurance battle, an initial pack of four teams eventually shedding Sunderland, with Leeds wobbling dramatically before Sheffield United took an unexpected spill. The Blades are in action at home to Cardiff right now, and still have to visit leaders Burnley on Easter Monday.
For Leeds, the equation is simple enough. Despite a run of one victory in six after winning at Bramall Lane in February, wins over Middlesbrough and Preston have given Daniel Farke’s side a priceless advantage in the top-two race; with four games to go, they just need to keep winning and put the permutations aside.
Tonight’s opponents, Oxford United, are on the fringes of the relegation battle, kicking off here five points clear of danger. Gary Rowett’s side are a tough proposition at home, where they have earned 10 of their 12 league wins this season. It was their 1-0 win over Sheffield United that kickstarted the Blades’ slide; can they put another spanner in the works here tonight? Kick-off is at 8pm, BST.
