Good Morning. It's Thursday 6th February, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Leeds end Sky Blues run to go five points clear
Leeds extended their lead at the top of the Championship to five points with a dominating 2-0 victory at the CBS Arena last night. Having won their previous four games, confidence was Sky High in fat Franks camp; but from the opening whistle, found themselves out of their depths. Last gasp defending, questionable officiating and breathtaking saves from Dovin (between the sticks) may have restricted Leeds to just two goals, but for much of the game, the 'XG' threatened to run amok.
The opening goal arrived on 17 minutes, and settled the nerves of the 3000 travelling supporters. The Whites hadn't won in this particular part of the West Midlands for fifteen years, but found themselves ahead when Solomon's delicate through ball carved open the hosts defence, leaving Piroe to drill the ball into the bottom right corner with mechanical precision, for his 13th of the season.
Jaiden Bogle doubled their lead nine minutes with a fabulous, albeit fortuitous solo effort! The Leeds full-back weaved his way through a sea of blue from the half-way line, only for the ball to outrun him at the end, and was scooped up by the Coventry City shot-stopper. Inexplicably, the ball popped back out of Dovin's grasp. handing Bogle an easy tap-in and his fourth of the season.
Leeds continued to press, with Dan James missing a golden opportunity to add a third goal before the break. The second half saw more chances for Leeds, including a possible penalty when Latibeaudiere assaulted Brenden Aaronson. Coventry did manage a few threats, with Meslier making a crucial save to deny Ellis Simms’s header early in the second half and another impressive stop to keep out Bobby Thomas’s late effort.
Leeds have now kept four clean sheets in their last five away league matches, contributing to their 19 clean sheets in total this season. Their +43 goal difference is the best in the football league, and whilst there are 45 points still to play, for can turn their attention to the FA Cup this weekend and the arrival of Millwall without having to look behind their backs.
We played the best team in this league
Commiserating after the game (with a box of assorted donuts) Frank Lampard conceded defeat graciously stating Leeds are on a 'higher level' and the 'best team in the Championship'. The Whites outclassed his Sky Blues side in every department, leaving their three month unbeaten home run in tatters.
We're not used to losing at the minute, so we have to respond and make sure it doesn't have an effect on all our positive momentum. Does it change our attitude to what we need to do over the next 15 games? No. There's some things we didn't do brilliantly but we have to accept that nights like this can come. And you just have to learn from them.
We've played the best team in this league and they've beaten us. When you play a team like Leeds, you just feel you're up against players used to a higher level. We had Matty Grimes come on and show his quality over the final half hour. And we still have Ephron Mason-Clark and Haji Wright almost ready to return.
