Verdict: Leeds United hold their nerve to sink Burnley in Turf Moor shoot-out

On an evening that saw two Roses rivals bump into each other once again, there was no cordial welcome either from the visiting followers towards their last two player-of-the-seasons in Charlie Taylor and Chris Wood.

Neither was smiling at the game’s conclusion as Leeds prevailed on a night when the other main talking point among both sets of fans was a quite remarkable final quarter of normal time.

It saw four different substitutes, including Wood, find the net in a riotous 17-minute spell as the teams shared four goals – with two strikes arriving in stoppage-time.

After a pretty quiet opening 80 minutes, a counter-attack of the highest order saw Leeds – who had lost on their three previous visits to East Lancashire – take the lead thanks to a rare strike from Hadi Sacko, his first goal since Boxing Day.

But Wood, with a sense of inevitability, had his moment to silence the boo-boys who serenaded him with some unflattering songs both before and after he entered the fray. He coolly steered home from the spot on 89 minutes after Gaetano Berardi’s injudicious tug on Kevin Long.

Extra-time ensued, but not in the way most imagined with Leeds re-taking the lead with a penalty of their own when Pablo Hernandez converted after James Tarkowski’s shirt-pull on Kemar Roofe in the fourth minute of stoppage-time before play switched to the other end where Robbie Brady’s sweetly-struck free-kick incredibly restored parity for the second time for the hosts.

After such a breathless spell, both sides could be excused for pausing for air in a tired extra half-hour before penalties followed.

The stage was set for someone to make their mark and the night ultimately belonged to Leeds – and more especially Andy Lonergan on his second debut – and not Wood or Taylor.

In the penalty shoot-out, Lonergan made the decisive save to deny Tarkowski, with all of the other penalties being converted with Pierre-Michel Lasogga, Hernandez, Mateusz Klich, Ezgjan Alioski and Stuart Dallas converting for Leeds to record victory.

Taylor, in particular, was handed merciless stick in the first half when his every touch was booed by United fans, left with a bad taste in their mouths following his departure and refusal to play at Wigan Athletic on the final day of last term ahead of his move to Burnley.

Regardless of whether they would have won or lost, it was an evening when Leeds took plenty against a side who look to be successfully bridging the gap between relegation candidates and solid top-flight regulars.

Burnley – despite making seven changes -– still attacked the competition by naming a strong line-up.

By contrast, Leeds’s priorities were clearly on Saturday’s encounter in a line-up featuring nine changes from the weekend.

United followers also got their first sight of Swedish forward Pawel Cibicki with teenage Dutch attacker Jay-Roy Grot given his first start.

After expressing disappointment at his side’s lack of identity in a weekend loss at Millwall, head coach Thomas Christiansen received reassurances three days on.

A well-tutored outfit who got used to bullying sides physically in their time in the Championship and imposing their will upon rival teams, Burnley were asked questions for spells in the first period before finishing the half rather more in character.

Leeds, who looked slick enough in possession with some adept movement, conjured one excellent chance early on when Grot was wasteful in front of goal after being found by Dallas.

At the other end, Lonergan was relatively untroubled, making one early save to turn away Scott Arfield’s effort – although the activity pepped up in a 15-minute spell before the break. Long was off beam with a header before a couple of genuine scares saw Arfield screw an effort wide from close range and Ashley Barnes’s header drifted just wide.

After a scrappy start to the second half, Burnley gradually imposed themselves with Johann Berg Gudmundsson curling a shot inches wide before another close shave saw Phil Bardsley’s cross-shot fly inches off target.

Manager Sean Dyche soon called for Wood in the clear hope of him nailing his old club and avoiding an unwanted extra-half hour, but it was Leeds who seemingly provided the game-breaking moment when Sacko raced clear before firing home under the legs of Nick Pope following Hernandez’s defensive-splitting pass.

That lit the blue-touch paper for a crazy finale, which proved the prelude to the drama of penalties – a fair bit later.

Burnley: Pope; Bardsley, Long, Tarkowski, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Westwood, Hendrick (Cork 90), Arfield (Brady 72); Barnes, Vokes (Wood 72). Unused substitutes: Lowton, Mee, Defour, Legzdins.

Leeds United: Lonergan; Berardi, Shaughnessy, Ayling, Borthwick-Jackson (Sacko 60); Klich, Vieira; Roofe (Alioski 103), Dallas, Cibicki (Hernandez 79); Grot (Lasogga 85). Unused substitutes: Wiedwald, Gomes, Phillips.

Referee: D Bond (Lancashire).