Garry Monk’s Leeds United continued their prolific campaign with a third consecutive Championship victory with a 4-1 away defeat of Preston on Boxing Day.

Kemar Roofe, Hadi Sacko, Souleymane Doukara, and Pablo Hernandez were all on target for a rampant United, who now lead the side in 7th, Fulham, by five points as a result of what was a richly deserved success.

It was most certainly a day to forget for Preston, and in particular, former Leeds stalwarts Simon Grayson and Jermaine Beckford, the latter encapsulating his side’s aberation of a performance by earning himself a red card during the second-half. Marnick Vermijl’s first goal of the season proved scant consolation for Preston, who were comprehensively outplayed by their West Yorkshire counterparts.

The result sees Leeds remain in 5th position, with United having accrued 41 points thus far this season, while Preston, now on 32 points, fall two places into 13th.

Team Lineups

Leeds United (4-2-3-1) - Green; Ayling, Jansson, Bartley, Berardi; Phillips, Bridcutt; Sacko (Hernandez 54'), Roofe (Antonsson 85'), Dallas; Doukara (Wood 81').

Unused Substitutes: Silvestri, Denton, Vieira, Cooper.

Preston North End (4-5-1) - Maxwell; Baptiste, Clarke, Huntington, Cunningham; Vermijl, Pearson, Browne, Johnson (Doyle 81'), Robinson (Beckford 66'); Makienok (Hugill 66').

Unused Substitutes: Lindegaard, Wright, Spurr, Pringle.

First-Half

The home side began proceedings, and with little more than a minute played, Preston were awarded a free-kick, however, Pontus Jansson was on hand to avert the danger and head clear.

Leeds then had the game’s first-half chance on 14 minutes; following some slick, incisive one-touch passing from Liam Bridcutt and Hadi Sacko, Souleymane Doukara was released and began galloping directly at the North End defence, before to dragging an effort form the edge of the area well wide.

Despite that miss, Leeds were soon in the lead shortly afterwards. Stuart Dallas’ sumptuous delivery from a free-kick was met by the head of towering defender Pontus Jansson at the far-post; the ball eluded Preston stopper Chris Maxwell, sailing over the head of the beleaguered goalkeeper prior to Kemar Roofe applying a facile headed finish from a yard out.
The goal was Roofe’s second for Leeds since joining the club from Oxford United for a princely sum of £3 million in the summer.

Four minutes passed, before the Whites doubled their money with their second goal of the match. A deftly executed passing exchange between Roofe and Sacko on the verge of the Preston area culminated in the latter surging through on goal, before blasting a venomous shot past Maxwell and into the back of the net from 12 yards for his second goal of the season. The vociferous travelling contingent of Leeds fans had now exploded into delirious raptures.

Some kudos must be granted to Preston though, who responded just three minutes after conceding for a second time in swift succession. Alan Browne headed on a ball up to the lumbering Dane Simon Makienok, who nodded the ball down for Marnick Vermijl - the Belgian’s first-time shot was marginally too powerful for Rob Green to keep out, and with that, the arrears had been suddenly halved.

The joviality of the home support was to be short-lived however, as an incredulous half took yet another twist on 31 minutes when Souleymane Doukara restored United’s two-goal advantage. The Meudon-born attacker was found on the left-hand side by a precise pass from Roofe. He proceeded to break into the penalty area, jinking away from the challenge of a defender before shooting, left-footed, toward goal at the near-post. Doukara’s effort appeared to have lacked power, but nevertheless, Maxwell, who had already been caught napping for the game’s opener, inexplicably fumbled the effort, allowing it to cross the line. 3-1, to the sheer despondency of the home crowd, and in striking contrast, the unadulterated joy of the Leeds United players, supporters, and management.

Before the half-time whistle, Daniel Johnson and home goalscorer Vermijl would both spurn opportunities to claw Preston back into the match. On 38 minutes, Johnson lashed the ball well over Green’s crossbar from inside the penalty area, while Vermijl, a minute before the break, latched onto another flick-on from Makienok before slicing a wayward effort wide of the mark.

HT - Preston North End 1-3 Leeds United - Roofe 17’, Sacko 23’, Doukara 31’.

Second-Half

The hosts enjoyed a lively start to the second period, and Simon Grayson’s charges could have pulled another goal back if not for a quintessential piece of goalkeeping from Rob Green.

On 59 minutes, Simon Makienok demonstrated his aerial prowess for a third time in the match, rising highest in the area to head down for Alan Browne, whose improvised flick was expertly saved by Green, who got down low to ensure his side’s two-goal cushion remained intact.

The seemingly resurgent hosts continued to probe and press in desperate pursuit of an equaliser, but any faint hopes of launching a stunning comeback were eradicated in the 69th minute. Former Leeds favourite Jermaine Beckford, who’d just returned from a suspension after his involvement in an altercation with teammate Eoin Doyle at Hillsborough a few weeks previously, was once again the villain for his side. An act that could only reasonably be described as preposterous, crude, and fundamentally unprofessional was committed by the striker following an aerial battle with Kyle Bartley. Clearly incandescent with rage, Beckford kicked out at the defender and was rightly given his marching orders by referee Jeremy Simpson.

On 78 minutes, Leeds looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage; Kemar Roofe was inches away from a brace after shooting narrowly over from an improbable angle.

The miss mattered not. With the game in its dying embers with just two minutes of normal time to play, United, who have lost just twice in 11 league games, completed the rout courtesy of a goal from Pablo Hernandez. Substitute and top-scorer Chris Wood exhibited real class and vision to find Hernandez inside the area, and the Spaniard cooly slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner for his third goal of the season. There was not a patch of rustiness on show from the former Spain international, despite having only just returned from a hamstring injury that had kept him confined to the sidelines since the opening week of November. 4-1, and United’s youthful vibrancy and dynamism had been matched with a superlative victory.

Preston North End 1-4 Leeds United - Roofe 17’, Sacko 23’, Doukara 31’, Hernandez 88’.

A comprehensive victory for Leeds who were unquestionably the better of the two sides. United’s efficiency in front of goal was marked by the fact that each and every clear-cut opportunity they created was converted with aplomb. Preston could not attenuate the pace and power of their counterparts, and that is aptly reflected in the scoreline.

Man Of The Match

Kemar Roofe (8.4 Statistical Rating)

The 23 year-old enjoyed his finest game in United shirt to date, scoring his second goal for the club in addition to assisting both Hadi Sacko and Souleymane Doukara for Leeds’ second and third goals respectively. Roofe’s adroitness and guile when running at opposing defenders, coupled with the precision and ingenuity of his passing, made him an interminable threat to Preston throughout the entirety of the match.

Goals: 1

Assists: 2

Pass Success: 85%

Touches: 48

Media: Victorious Leeds United head coach Garry Monk and losing manager Simon Grayson

Garry Monk, speaking to the BBC:

"They play quite a direct game. We accepted that really well and went toe to toe.

"We managed to get ourselves some good goals, the only disappointment being their goal. That was the only time where I thought we lost concentration.

"It was a good reaction after that, though, to regain the two-goal lead. I thought it was a very good all-round performance against a team that are doing very well lately.

"It's great to be winning games. We are fighting hard to improve and we are learning all the time. But it's step by step - our fight is for the three points ahead of us."

Simon Grayson, also speaking to the BBC:

"It was inconsistent from the referee but Jermaine Beckford has to react in a better way than he has done.

"I think he got a nasty knee in the back but you can't react and that took the wind out of our sails. You don't need to be going down to 10 men too many times in this division.

"It's something that Jermaine has to accept, he will get a four-match ban and we'll lose him.

"I think sometimes in the heat of the moment we do things we shouldn't do but you'd like to think the older players can cope with it."

Match Statistics and Facts

Stats - (Preston/Leeds)

Possession - 44% / 56%

Pass Success - 66% / 74%

Shots - 10 / 11

On Target - 4 / 6

Corners - 2 / 4

Fouls - 14 /15

Referee - Jeremy Simpson

Booked - (Preston) Baptiste, Clarke, Beckford (Red). (Leeds) Ayling, Bartley, Phillips.

Attendance - 21,255

Writer's View

A quite incredible result and an accomplished performance to match. Our ruthlessness in front of goal was encouraging as we’ve averaged just 1.3 goals per game up to this point, and the merciless manner in which we tore Preston apart at the seams was a delight to see. Not only did we instigate a deluge of sieges upon the opposition net, but we also maintained a sound, structured defensive solidity at the back besides Vermijl consolation on 27 minutes. Once more, Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley worked in tandem to great effect, while Liam Bridcutt providing tenacity and protection ahead of them. In addition to their expected consistency, it was auspicious to see Hadi Sacko finally prove to us that he can in fact be clinical in front of goal with a venomous strike for the second.

Souleymane Doukara was once more diligent in attack, dutifully closing down opponents while also netting his third goal of the season as top-scorer Chris Wood sat on the bench (though Wood did provide a fantastic assist for Hernandez to score the final goal). Despite the brilliance of the aforementioned Frenchmen though, it was the scintillating performance of Kemar Roofe that in particular caught the eye. Today he justified the fee outlaid on him in the summer by having a hand in not one, not two, but three of our four goals in the match. To describe his beautiful exchange of passes with Hadi Sacko for the second as classy would perhaps be the understatement of the millennium; it was a breathtaking phase of play, one that Preston could provide zilch resistance to.

The exuberance, dynamism, innovation, and passion of this side is fundamentally wondrous. How long has it been, since we were able to, as Leeds fans, marvel at the way in which our team plays? For too long, we had to tolerate lethargic, insipid, and noxious, nauseating football. The disappointment that the insufferable brands of football of servile non-entity after servile non-entity visited upon us is a distant memory. Indeed, this side carries an element of swagger, of confidence, of raw, unadulterated passion for the cause. The manager for once is articulate; what he says is intelligible, and the miracles that he has manufactured, not least his implementation of a style of football that intrinsically is stylish, slick, and stellar, surely warrant him being presented with a long-term contract.

The goals we rattled in today were the sort of strikes you’d expect to see from a side pursuing the riches and fame of the Premier League. Until today, our profligacy in front of goal had often been the slightest caveat of many otherwise great showings. Perhaps this is a watershed moment, and many more comprehensive victories of this kind await in the near future?

Up next on Thursday are Aston Villa, and while that is a fixture that is predicted to be closely-fought, the Championship is renowned for being one of the most mercurial leagues in the world…

Photo: Action Images

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