Leeds United deserve leeway after getting the job done against Queens Park Rangers despite tempting fate

What ought to have been plain sailing turned into a nail-chewing afternoon at Elland Road on Saturday.

Leeds United were miles better than a bottom-of-the-Championship Queens Park Rangers who had not won for 11 games, or even scored away from home since they were at Hillsborough since mid-September.

Yet as the game ticked into stoppage time they were not miles ahead on the scoreboard – just a Jayden Bogle goal – and any football fan knows how that often pans out.

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"I try to pretend to be cool but I'm still a human being," admitted Leeds manager Daniel Farke later. "When we miss chance after chance I know how this league is and when it goes up six minutes added time and you ask yourself for what?

"I'm in general optimistic because I believe in my players but I always expect the worst."

He was not the only one.

But when substitute Joel Piroe dinked over Paul Nardi in the fifth of those six extra minutes – a beauty of a goal after Bogle's beast of one – it made the final score Leeds 2, QPR 0 and on this particular day, it was all that mattered.

When you are striving to win a league, you often have to be hyper-critical about performances.

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CHIP AND WIN: Joel Piroe puts the contest beyond doubt for Leeds UnitedCHIP AND WIN: Joel Piroe puts the contest beyond doubt for Leeds United
CHIP AND WIN: Joel Piroe puts the contest beyond doubt for Leeds United

“If you let the standard drop, you can't be successful in this league. We will speak about a few situations where we should have done better – it's about using our chances, playing the final pass," said Farke, the big old meanie.

But this was a day to cut Leeds some slack for their slackness.

They ought to have won by more and QPR’s few chances were extremely scorable.

But this was the last match of a block between internationals where they have found an extra dimension and a new level when they could just have moped about injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev.

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ENERGETIC: Jayden Bogle's all-round performance was far better than his goalENERGETIC: Jayden Bogle's all-round performance was far better than his goal
ENERGETIC: Jayden Bogle's all-round performance was far better than his goal

It was also the last of three in a week, the second a tiring trip to Millwall and a demoralising defeat despite again making all the running.

One last kick in the proverbials was delivered on Saturday morning when it was announced Junior Firpo had been suspended for an incident at Millwall which escaped almost everybody's attention.

In stoppage time he headbutted Danny McNamara if that is not too strong a word – it is – not in a way that would hurt him, just send him theatrically to the turf and running to the referee at full-time.

The stupidity alone was worthy of a three-match ban.

NERVOUS: Leeds United manager Daniel FarkeNERVOUS: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke
NERVOUS: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke

Perhaps all the mental and physical drains explained why Leeds were good in parts, but not as good as they should have been.

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Brenden Aaronson hit the crossbar and Manor Solomon’s goal was rightly chalked off for offside.

Even Bogle’s goal would have been a poor one were it not for the fact no such thing exists.

Joe Rothwell surged down the right of QPR's three centre-backs and chipped in a ball Solomon tried to volley. He made a mess of it. When Willy Gnonto prodded goalwards Mateo Joseph’s shot was blocked and Bogle bundled the rebound in.

There were 19 minutes gone.

It had taken over half an hour to break Plymouth Argyle down seven days earlier but goals two and three quickly followed. Not this time.

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Sam Byram craned his neck to head Ao Tanaka's cross just beyond the far post, Bogle fizzed over a "finish me" cross but no one replied to the invitation on time, Gnonto broke clean through but hit his pass to Solomon too hard, allowing Nardi to collect. The goalkeeper saved from Bogle and substitute Josuha Guilavogui had a shot blocked after playing like Zinedine Zidane when he had been sent on to act like Claude Makele, according to Farke.

There were countless half-chances besides.

Four times in the second half Leeds were sloppily offside.

Although it never should have, it could have mattered.

"We've had a shot!" sang the away fans when Jimmy Dunne got a free header at a 32nd-minute free-kick. His effort was only narrowly wide.

In the 66th minute Sam Field put a Steve Cook pull-back onto the roof of the net. In the 84th Tanaka's slack pass allowed Zan Celar to curl an equally great chance wide.

In the end, Isaac Schmidt picked out fellow substitute Piroe, who bulldozed through, then daintily lifted the ball into the net.

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Leeds have a natural-born finisher. Shame about the rest of them.

There will be other days to whine, this was an afternoon to just get the job done. Leeds did. End of.

Leeds United: Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Byram; Tanaka, Rothwell (Guilavogui 84); Gnonto (Schmidt 90), Aaronson, Solomon (James 72); Joseph (Piroe 72). Unused substitutes: Bamford, Darlow, Wober, Chambers, Crew.

Queens Park Rangers: Nardi; Ashby (Lloyd 81), Dunne, Cook, Field, Saito; Varane (Morrison 81), Morgan (Madsen 66); Smyth (Hevertton 89), Andersen (Bennie 66); Celar. Unused substitutes: Dixon-Bonner, Kolli, Aoraha, Shepperd.

Referee: M Donohue (Greater Manchester).

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