Good Morning. It's Tuesday 27th January, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Another point closer to safety
After bossing the first half as the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and only having a single goal to show for their efforts, Leeds were always going to find the second half tough after Everton's half time team talk with David Moyes. The Toffee's supremo felt there was little alternative but to copy Daniel Farke. Everton have never started a match this season with a five or three-man defence, so indicates how far the Whites have come in recent times.
To Leeds credit, they hung on for half an hour after the break, matching the hosts stride for stride for much of it. As the game progressed, the visitors slowed down visably, an indication of their work rate in the first half, and with only a one goal margin to show for their efforts, it was'nt a suprise to see a point shared.
Leeds, who shaded the stats that mattered, shouldn't be too disappointed. They've picked up four of of six points against what are seen as an established top half premier league club. Speaking to Match Of The Day after the game, Daniel Farke was upbeat about his teams performance and another point closer to safety.
It's a tough place to go, especially without a few key players, and to come away with a point is a good result for us.
We were a bit unlucky that, out of our dominance and chances created in the first half, we did not score the second goal. In the second half, it was clear that at some point Everton would show up and have some chances. We didn't allow too many. I'm a bit disappointed - we could have defended the goal situation sharper.
I haven't checked the expected goals and shots against, but the gut feeling was that even in this moment we were the better side. There was not much missing at all to win this game. We were dominant, we were brave out of possession, defensively well structured and brave on the ball. It was not to be to win it but we take a point and move on.
On momentum: "It is a nice sign that we are moving one step closer to our goal. To come here and put in this performance is encouraging, but the job is not done yet. We have to keep going and need to win more points - and for that, it is important that we are competitive like this. "In seasons you have ups and downs. We have momentum and we want to ride the momentum further.
Hammer fans smell blood
The 1-1 draw last night will be music to the ears of both West Ham and Nottingham Forest, in the race to avoid relegation. West Ham’s resilient display was built on the momentum of back-to-back victories against Spurs and Sunderland, results that have propelled Nuno Espírito Santo side to within six points of the Whites. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, have found some recent form too, securing seven points from a possible nine and edging ever closer to safety.
For West Ham, the point feels almost like a win. They now sit just five points behind Nottingham Forest, whose own revival will cause Leds fans sleepless nights. The Whites are just a point clear of Notingham Forest though they have a better goal difference than both sides below them. Those superior numbers in the goals column will count for little if Daniel Farke's men cannot start turning draws into wins. They have drawn six of their last nine league games.
