It was another special night under the lights at Elland Road, with the crowd roaring Leeds on to show greater desire than Nottingham Forest, and claim a deserved victory against our relegation rivals.
Last week Arsenal became the first team in a long while to take us apart on our own turf, so we needed a stellar performance to bounce back from that defeat. And where better to do it than in a vital game between two of the teams sitting uncomfortably just above the dreaded bottom three.
Daniel Farke had one enforced change to make, with Stach the latest player to pick up an injury, and instead of selecting Longstaff as a like-for-like replacement, he opted to recall Okafor to give us a slightly more positive lineup, in a 3-4-3 formation.
For Forest it was a different story, thanks to a couple of injuries at the back and Williams being kind enough to choose this match to get himself suspended. Sean Dyche opted for a makeshift back four with both full-backs out of position, young Abbot (a central defender) making his Premier League debut at right back, and Aina moved to the left to accommodate him.
So they were always likely to struggle down the flanks, and we were targeting their right side from the off, with the struggling Abbot not helped by Domínguez’ reluctance to drop back and help out. From one early move Gudmunsson cut inside and as Abbot went to block it the ball could have gone anywhere as it came off his foot, and actually flew just over the bar.
We were well on top in the first ten minutes, but Forest started to grow into the game, and produced several good chances around the middle of the first half. Amidst their problems at the back, they looked quite good whenever they managed to get forward. Hudson-Odoi cut inside but shot straight at Darlow, but they would go closer with their next opportunity.
Domínguez’ first shot was blocked, but the ball came back to him and he then curled the ball towards the far corner, but Darlow got across to make a fine save. Then a cross from Gibbs-White’s found Jesus unmarked just beyond the far post, and he headed the ball down but just wide.
We needed to re-assert a bit of control, which nearly came when Gudmundsson’s cross found Calvert-Lewin leaping higher than the Forest defence, and his firm header came crashing down off the underside of the bar, but without crossing the line. Okafor should then have done better with the rebound than putting it way over the bar.
Then in the 26th minute we scored the goal for which this game will be remembered for many years to come. Gruev sent a superb ball half the length of the field to find Bogle racing across from the right wing-back position, and with no Forest defender taking responsibility, he was left with a one-on-one with Ortega.
Even on his weaker left foot Bogle had no trouble slotting the ball past the keeper to put Leeds in front. We now know that this was a move the squad had been practising in training, but it still needed to be perfectly executed on the night. I love it when a plan comes together. And four minutes later we were well on top as Forest were carved open again for the second goal.
Aaronson slipped the ball through to Justin, and after his first shot was saved by Ortega, he had the presence of mind to pull the ball back for Okafor rather than trying again from a narrow angle. Okafor was unchallenged as he came inside from the left, and he made no mistake as he fired into the back of the net.
We might have expected Forest to get a rocket from their manager at half time and come out determined to get back in the game after a tactical tweak or two, but any hopes they had of a recovery were pretty much snuffed out by our third goal in the 49th minute.
Gruev cut inside from the right and tried a curling shot with his favoured left foot, but Calvert-Lewin got to it, choosing to chest the ball as it was too low to try a header. And our man was able to control the ball enough to guide it into the corner of the net. It looked like Gruev’s original ball was on target, but without DCL’s intervention Ortega would have had quite an easy save.
As we moved deeper into the second half Farke could have made a few changes as we started to run out of energy, having put so much effort into the game on a heavy surface. But as usual he left it late, with Gruev battling on after taking a heavy blow during a goalmouth scramble. Aaronson had also taken a knock, and he was the first to be replaced after 76 minutes, James making a welcome return after his own injury problem.
And the Welsh winger was close to putting us four up as he broke away, but with no one up quicky enough to support him he had to try a shot from a difficult angle, and could only send the ball across the face of goal and wide. Dyche has also been getting pelters on social media for leaving it late to make changes, and when he did so Forest had a better shape for the last quarter of an hour.
Two of their new signings came on, first the 6 foot 7 Lucca, who looks like quite a handful at centre forwards, then Netz at left back, allowing Aina to move back to the right. So they at last had a back four in their natural positions and kept us at bay in the closing stages, while giving us a semblance of an anxious finish at the other end.
First Ndoye sent over an inswinging cross from the left, and Morato should perhaps have done better than send his header just wide. The in the 86th minute Hutchinson cut in from the right and Lucca’s height advantage told as he out-jumped Rodon to pull a goal back for the visitors. It would have done my head in if we’d let the win slip from being three up, but thankfully we didn’t.
Longstaff replaced Okafor to shore things up, and by and large we fell back to protect our lead. Nine minutes stoppage time was played after the time it took to deal with the Gruev injury, but we managed the extra period pretty comfortably. The one moment when they could have pulled another goal back came when Sangaré sent in a fierce shot from outside the area, which thankfully was quite close to Darlow, but our keeper still did well to tip it over the bar.
Darlow’s performance did much to redeem himself after last week’s howler, and apart from one spill that didn’t amount to anything he vindicated Farke’s decision to stick with him. Soon the final whistle sounded and the sound of the Kaiser Chiefs echoed round the stadium as Elland Road celebrated another fine victory.
The win meant that Daniel Farke has now won more Premier League games with Leeds than he did with Norwich, and while we’re not safe yet, it looks like this one will play a big part in guiding us to safety by the end of the season.