10th August, 2024. EFL Championship
Ah goodness me! I was so hoping this season would get off the mark with a no-drama victory and set the scene on a good season to come. What did we get? Pretty much a replay of the opening game of last season when, feeling similarly optimistic, Cardiff City came to town and almost pulled off an undeserved win themselves!
In that game against Cardiff, Leeds dominated, with 25 shots, conceding just two shots on target yet at one point we were 2 goals down! Then, as now, a late, late equaliser saved the worst of our embarrassment and, fortunately the season eventually improved for us.
So it was again today, Leeds dominated the possession to the tune of 68% and battered the Pompey goal with 22 shots of which a creditable 10 found the target, seven saved by the largely solid Will Norris in the Pompey nets. For the visitors, it was a hard slog with just 5 shots and four on target but, crucially, 2 of those found our net and, with seconds remaining, it looked, just as it looked in that Cardiff game, like we were going to go down on the opening day.
It all looked so promising in the first ten minutes when Willy Gnonto (who should have scored),Ethan Ampadu with a header and then Ilia Gruev from a free kick all struck woodwork before a super cool Pascal Struijk put us ahead with a penalty after the flying Dan James was brought down by Connor Ogilvie - Dan will win many a penalty this season I'd guess. But, thereafter, if all looked and felt very much like countless games last season; Leeds clearly the better and more adventurous team but unable to hit the target often enough or clinically enough and unable to find their way through a well organised if unadventurous opponent often enough. Defensively too, Leeds had more of a whiff of last season’s periodic frailty about them, as witnessed the Portsmouth equaliser just 23 minutes in.
Marlon Pack spotted a big gap in the home defence to thread a ball through to Sorenson and he had all the time in the world to steady himself and then rifle a shot past Illan Meslier at his near post; we said that too often last season as well!
The equaliser clearly shook Leeds, and our crowd, as we started to consider that this was going to be more difficult than many of us expected. That feeling grew just before the break with another fine strike from the visitors that sped past Meslier from the edge of the box but only after a poor headed clearance from Joe Rodon. You could only admire the quality of the strike but we ought to have cleared more powerfully. At that point I’m sure many fans, like me, were just adjusting our expectations for the season!
Plenty to ponder at the break.
Just as we did at the start, Leeds came out firing on all cylinders and, within seconds of the restart, we were level as Willy Gnonto filled the role Cree Summerville used to play regularly, finding space on the left, cutting inside across two defenders, and then whipping a great shot into the bottom left corner – OK, Cree would have curled it inside the far post but you know what I mean!
It seemed we were indeed going to repeat that opening fixture against Cardiff last season with a 2 – 2 draw and, had it of finished like that, we’d have shrugged no doubt and said “Well, if we can’t win it, don’t lose it” only for that old Leeds bad luck to strike again.
Referee Oliver Langford had been as inconsistent as he always is, different degrees of punishment for identical fouls and generally failing to understand the game or keep it moving. A whopping 40 fouls were whistled in this game and it was hardly a ‘dirty’ game at all. It was bound to be him who almost ruined our day as Jayden Bogle wrestled with Christian Saydee and Langford pointed to the spot. I’ve not watched it back yet but some reports suggest the ‘foul’ if it was indeed one, started outside the box while this sort of wrestling and holding more often than not usually goes unpunished. Not for Leeds of course. Lang put the penalty away much as Pascal did at the same end earlier.
It was panic stations then of course as we were into added time. We already had four substitutes on the pitch – they’d been sent on with the scores level, presumably with the intention of changing things around to find a winner. But they were some baffling substitutions for me – both wide players, Dan James and Willy Gnonto withdrawn and replaced with Piroe and Aaronson and then the busy and effective Ilia Gruev subbed in favour of Joe Rothwell. Patrick Bamford then got his first real showing of the season as he replaced Mat Joseph. I guess we can’t moan too much about those subs (although I will mention that Patrick Bamford looked way off the pace and totally ineffective for the few minutes he was on) as it was Brenden Aaronson who saved the day with a deflected shot that crept into the corner in the last minute of added time… exactly the same time Cree Summerville scored that equaliser against Cardiff last year! Brenden should then have completely won over the hearts and minds of the Leeds crowd – many of whom still booed his arrival on the pitch for a second consecutive game – when he found himself through one on one with Norris in the Pompey goal. It was somehow right bang in keeping with our afternoon as he snatched at the shot and pulled it wide; a shocking miss.
So it ended 3 – 3, a thoroughly entertaining game but with far too much déjà vu for my liking. Leeds struggled to make their obvious superiority count just as we did so often before Christmas last season, poor teams not put away and points too often thrown away through defensive lapses and poor finishing. It feels to me like we urgently need to find a replacement for Cree Summerville – a player who can do the unexpected and find the net on a regular basis. In this game we were almost totally reliant on Georginio to provide the magic and, try as he might, it didn’t come off often enough for him. Dan James and Willy Gnonto performed well but neither is a Cree Summerville. It was hard to find fault with any players individually – everyone played a part, but, as a team we were just not creative enough. Early days I know but this was two points given up already and there are going to be much better teams lining up against us in the coming weeks.
Leeds United 3 (Struijk 10’ pen, Gnonto 46’, Aaronson 90’)
Portsmouth 3 (Sorensen 23’, Lang 42’, 90’ pen)
Leeds: Meslier, Bogle, Firpo, Ampadu, Struijk, Rodon, Mateo, James (Piroe 71’), Joseph (Bamford 79’), Georginio, Gnonto (Aaronson 71’), Gruev (Rothwell 71’). Subs not used: Darlow (GK), Byram, Gelhardt, Wober, Crew.
Pompey: Norris (GK), Williams, Towler, Shaughnessy, Ogilvie, Pack (C), Dozzell (Moxon 74’), Lane (Ritchie 83’), Lang, Silvera (Devlin 45’), Sørensen (Saydee 63’). Subs not used: Archer (GK), Swanson, Stevenson, Lowery, Whyte.
Venue: Elland Road
Attendance: 36,432
Referee: Oliver Langford
Booked: Rodon, Struijk (Leeds) Lang, Dozzell, Ogilvie, Towler (Pompey)
