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By @ImoLeeds / @jonnychick__
Leeds United took a monumental step forward in their quest to gain promotion to the Premier League as they defeated Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Elland Road.
Jack Harrison was the man to score the defining goal mid-way through the second half in a game which Leeds dominated and Sheffield Wednesday rarely threatened in.
Bielsa was forced into making one change to the side which beat Preston 2-0 in midweek, as skipper Liam Cooper injured himself in the warm up and he was replaced by Gaetano Berardi. The Swiss was making his first start for the Whites since the 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town back in October.
The opening ten minutes of the game saw little to write home about as Leeds controlled possession but lacked the killer pass, but they also looked tentative at the back with some mis placed passes and long balls.
However, after this drab spell, Leeds created the first clear cut chance of the game. Alioski delivered the corner from the right and his in-swinging ball was met at the back post by Tyler Roberts who headed the ball goal wards only to be denied by an unbelievable one handed save by Kieran Westwood.
The first of many times the Wednesday keeper was called upon to keep the scores level.
The away side fashioned a chance of their own afterwards, and potentially could have taken the lead if it wasn’t for a superb goal saving tackle by Luke Ayling; who received the captains armband following the injury to Liam Cooper.
Gary Hooper was sent through one on one with Casilla by Reach but Ayling slid in and Hooper hit the side netting on the follow up from a tight angle.
Roberts was presented with another opportunity to give the home side the advantage and was fractions away from doing so. Bamford played him through but his strike from the edge of the area didn’t curl round the right hand post quick enough.
The majority of the crowd thought it was in.
It was end to end action in the first half and Casilla was called upon to keep the score level. Bannan turned away from Klich to allow space to shoot with his venomous left foot and his curling effort was tipped behind by the Spaniard for a corner.
A flurry of chances then fell the Whites’ way and Westwood was on hand again to make sure the score was level going into the break. A lovely interchange between Hernandez and Ayling resulted in Harrison glancing a header towards goal but he was denied by Westwood.
Roberts then stood up a deflected cross into the box which caused mayhem and the ball broke lose for Ayling who’s strike was deflected and cleared off the line by Hooper.
Bamford, who was prolific in the week after scoring both of Leeds’ goals, curled a beauty of a ball to Roberts who volleyed low and again was blocked by Westwood.
0-0 at half time.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first did with the home side applying all of the pressure. Bamford found himself heavily involved in the early stages of it, as he had a shot blocked from point blank range and then reacted quickly to a low cross from Harrison but his effort whitsled past the post.
Those were his last actions in the game as he was replaced by top scorer Kemar Roofe.
After constantly knocking at the door, Leeds finally found the breakthrough. Hernandez was found in space down the right-hand side and his wicked ball was met by the faintest of touches of Jack Harrison and his precise and acute finish found its way into the bottom corner.
No chance for Westwood that time.
The game lacked chances after that as Leeds looked to grind out the result, but they had to face a late scare in the process. The ball was playing pinball in the penalty area and substitute Matias, for the away side, hammered the ball into the side netting to the relief of the Leeds faithful.
A vital and precious win for Leeds that sees them three points clear of Sheffield United in third place with four games of the campaign remaining. Wigan at Elland Road is the Whites’ next test, and they keep on getting more important by the game.