Leeds United quick to fuel their fans' expectations with opening win
Times have changed significantly for Leeds United since that rancorous Spring afternoon just 17 months ago. Certainly in terms of mood music with Whites supporters at peace with the club’s current owner and not at war, as they were with the previous one.
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Hide AdWhere there was protest against reviled owner Massimo Cellino the previous time that this Roses fixture was played, in March 2016, a kernel of genuine hope is now self-evident under Andrea Radrizzani.
On the pitch too, there is renewed optimism, with first impressions of the brave new world under head coach Thomas Christiansen largely positive.
Leeds’s 4,832 following may have been afforded a few anxious moments towards the end of a watchable encounter across the Pennines, but a first-weekend win will have earned United’s new boss some early credit in the bank.
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Hide AdSome things may change even when circumstances stay the same. In United’s case, the sight of a different manager in the dug-out at the start of the campaign for a sixth successive season is the sort of constant that you can do without.
A microcosm of what Christiansen can expect in the unforgiving Championship was always likely to arrive in the space of 90 minutes at Bolton, a physically imposing side high on perspiration, if not sophistication.
The game did not disappoint in that regard, with Bolton posing their familiar threat from set-pieces and long throws.
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Hide AdBut it was the searing counter-attacking and deadly finishing traits of Leeds that provided the major talking points – and a handsome interval advantage for good measure.
Looking dapper in a sharp suit, Christiansen watched his Leeds side – including three debutants in Felix Wiedwald, Matthew Pennington and Ezgjan Alioski – systematically undress a toiling home defence on occasions and post an impressive 3-1 lead at the break.
It was lapped up by the big away contingent, who sang in unflattering terms about what they thought of former head coach Garry Monk at regular intervals.
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Hide AdThat two goals were struck by Kalvin Phillips, who equalled his goals tally in 52 previous appearances for Leeds in the space of 35 minutes, provided the unexpected bonus, with the identity of the other scorer, Chris Wood, being far less of a surprise.
Phillips’s deflected opener on seven minutes owed plenty to a smart short corner from Pablo Hernandez and some wretched defending from the hosts, which set the tone for a fraught half.
Having only signed a contract extension on Friday, the Leeds lad – criminally left unmarked – crowned his new deal in the best possible fashion by sweeping home an angled shot, while his second goal on 42 minutes put daylight between United and their hosts in the teeming Lancashire rain.
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Hide AdIt was not without controversy, with incensed Wanderers players convinced that the goal should have been ruled out for offside, but replays showed that Stephen Darby had played Wood onside.
What could not be doubted was the quality of the strike with Hernandez’s sliderule pass picking out Wood, who unselfishly teed up Phillips for a tap-in.
United’s devastating counter-attacking also yielded a sweet strike for Wood on the half hour, with the Kiwi doing what he does best, with his close-range header going in off the crossbar after Alioski tidily headed across goal to him after a peach of a cross from Kemar Roofe.
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Hide AdThe main blight for Leeds – who saw Gaetano Berardi stretchered of with a dislocated shoulder – occurred when Gary Madine was allowed time and space to head home unchallenged following Josh Vela’s corner.
Aside from looking vulnerable from corners, the ticks in the box were plentiful for Christiansen, who saw Alioski go close to a fourth either side of the interval.
A second injury disruption at the back that saw Pennington leave the fray with an ankle injury in the second half– with debutant Conor Shaughnessy pressed into service as an emergency centre-back – was rather less edifying and made for an overly-anxious finale after Bolton were handed a gift.
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Hide AdAn ill-disciplined shirt-tug from Shaughnessy on Madine midway through the half saw Simon Hooper show no hesitation in pointing to the spot, with Adam Le Fondre blasting home from 12 yards for his fourth goal in seven matches against Leeds.
Leeds immediately showed their good side with Hernandez firing against the woodwork, but most of the late action was reserved for the other end, yet, despite a few scares, United got over the line.
A fist pump at the final whistle from Christiansen towards the massed ranks in the away end aptly illustrated the satisfaction of United’s new head coach and the start of a new era, which looks like being entertaining.