Daniel Farke’s Leeds Utd finally gave the fans something to smile about on Friday night, grinding out a nervy but vital 2-1 win over West Ham at Elland Road. The three points couldn’t have come at a better time after a miserable run that had seen just one win in eight. The result lifted the Whites up to 15th in the table, six points clear of the drop zone.

The evening started in dream fashion. Barely three minutes in, Jayden Bogle whipped a teasing delivery into the West Ham box, Noah Okafor’s clever header forced a sharp save from Areola, and Brenden Aaronson was on hand to stab home from close range. It was a statement goal from a player who went on to have his best game in a Leeds shirt. For a while, it looked like Farke’s men might run riot. Twelve minutes later, a Longstaff corner found Joe Rodon stealing free of Lucas Paquetá’s attention, and the defender thundered in a header to double the lead, as the stadium rocked.

But when have Leeds ever made things simple? The game soon turned scrappy. Injuries disrupted the rhythm; both Scarles and Gabriel Gudmundsson were forced off, and chances came and went at both ends. West Ham thought they’d pulled one back when Paquetá hammered in after a fortunate bounce, only for VAR to chalk it off for offside. That reprieve didn’t do much to calm Leeds nerves, though, as the visitors began to find their footing.

As the minutes ticked away, Leeds continued to press but couldn’t find the killer third. Okafor curled just wide, and Bogle’s drive drew another fine stop from Areola. Then came the inevitable late drama, Fernandes glancing home a Jarrod Bowen cross in the 90th minute to set up a tense finale. Fortunately for Farke, his side held firm through four anxious minutes of stoppage time. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t comfortable, but it was absolutely necessary. Leeds might never do it the easy way, but this hard-fought victory could prove priceless in the battle for Premier League safety.

	Line Up		Nat	Match Events
	1	Perri, Lucas Goalkeeper			7.5
	2	Bogle, Jayden Defender			7.0
	3	Gudmundsson, Gabriel Defender			6.8
	6	Rodon, Joe Defender			8.1
	15	Bijol, Jaka Defender			6.8
	4	Ampadu, Ethan Midfielder			7.4
	8	Longstaff, Sean Midfielder			7.0
	22	Tanaka, Ao Midfielder			7.2
	11	Aaronson, Brenden Midfielder			★8.3
	19	Okafor, Noah Midfielder			6.9
	9	Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Forward			7.3
	Subs		Nat	Match Events
	24	Justin, James Defender			6.6
	20	Harrison, Jack Midfielder			5.9
	44	Gruev, Ilia Midfielder			5.9
	7	James, Daniel Midfielder			5.8
	14	Nmecha, Lukas Forward
	26	Darlow, Karl Goalkeeper		Unused Sub
	5	Struijk, Pascal Defender		Unused Sub
	18	Stach, Anton Midfielder		Unused Sub
	10	Piroe, Joel Forward		Unused Sub	5.0