Leeds United at Ipswich Town: Three Talking Points from the 1–0 loss
Not what anyone wanted on Saturday, as the Whites lost on the road after a questionable decision was too much to overcome.
I was personally hopeful coming into Saturday’s tilt at Portman Road that Leeds United would stand up after their loss to lowly Newport County and show the Championship that they’re not to be forgotten in 2018. Instead, another silly red card, another injury, and another dropped three points in the table left Christiansen’s Whites without much reason for optimism… and likely left Andrea Radrizzani with even more to consider before the January window closes.
The 1–0 finish, courtesy of a moment of brilliance from a Manchester City loanee, was the inevitable result on the day, all things considered. Let’s look at the game, as we always do here at Nowt For Second, through our Three Talking Points….
1) O’Kane’s red changed the game
Leeds United started off on the right foot, dominating possession and creating good chances even without Samuel Saiz, who missed the first of six games due to his suspension for spitting. His creative replacement, Pablo Hernandez, shined throughout and in the first 30 minutes, it appeared the Whites would have little trouble finding an opening goal, likely through the skill of the squad’s main creative force.
And then this happened:
It looked like a quick lapse in judgment on the television, but for me, not worthy of a red. The ref was in a much better position than I was, obviously, but it’s clear that Jonas Knudsen sold whatever contact there was.
(Update: Yeah… that’s always going to be a red. A better view from the stands hit the internet overnight. Check it out for yourself. Come on, Eunan.)
O’Kane made little complaint of it, walking off the pitch without comment. After the game, his manager would not go so quietly:
Leeds will likely appeal the suspension, but any football fan hates to see games decided like that. It was O’Kane’s first red card of his career.
2) An undeniable moment of skill
That said, with Leeds playing down a man, the game felt a lot more even. Ipswich should not take pride in that fact, but they did secure all three points on a beautiful goal (that left poor Kalvin Phillips looking pathetic as well)…
Can’t blame Wiedwald for that. (Oh, I’m sure someone on the internet did, but that’s a beautiful shot.)
The lone goal was all the Tractor Boys needed, and it’s good they only needed one, as Leeds were the stronger team in the second half while playing down a man. More on that in point three…
3) Fought to the end, but came up short
This team needs goal scorers.
We’ve been saying it for weeks, as the loss of Chris Wood’s numbers continues to hurt us in the table. On Saturday, missed chances from a team fighting for a point on the road cost them that point.
Liam Cooper skied the best chance over the bar, costing us an 80th minute equalizer:
Hernandez, the provider of that pass, played amazingly well considering the circumstances, creating multiple chances on net in the second half while down a man, three through key passes and two through runs of his own doing.
But Kemar Roofe (who played the full 90), Ezgjan Alioski (who was subbed off at half to deal with O’Kane’s red), Hadi Sacko (who came on for the injured Pawel Cibicki), and eventually Pierre-Michel Lasogga just could not put the ball past Dean Gerken.
The fight seemed to be there for Christiansen’s men, but an inability to finish good chances seemed to be the theme for a side down a man, as it has been for much of the season.
Will we see a goal scorer come to Elland Road in January? Or will Lasogga re-find his form from the first time Saturday’s teams met? If he can, or if Roofe can find where he placed his hat tricks, that’d surely be nicer than what we had to endure yesterday. The team hasn’t scored multiple goals in a match since Boxing Day and has just one goal in the last four.
For now, remember the good ole days of PML against Ipswich in September…
We need more of that, more goal scoring skill, to make this promotion push in 2018. You know it, I know it, the team knows it, everyone knows it.
All the justifiable worry about goal-scoring aside, the tweet above is my final conclusion on Saturday’s match. Leeds was the better side on the day, even without the ability to convert on chances created. When down a man through a questionable decision, they still looked the better side. I’m not pushing too many panic buttons as a result.
And yet, if Thomas Christiansen had a true goal scorer in his starting XI, we likely would have picked up the three points even with O’Kane’s red. It’s clear further moves are still needed in January if we’re to make the push for the top six, but one move is absolutely necessary: a top-flight goal scorer.
Now, we wait and see if Radrizzani will make that move… from just outside the playoff places. MOT.
