It’s fair to say both Sunderland and Leeds United went through a full rainbow of emotions during Monday night’s madcap Championship encounter at Elland Road.
Sunderland went from dreaming of all three points to being reluctantly happy with just one, only to end up devastated as they travelled all the way back up to Wearside with absolutely nothing to show for their considerable efforts.
Leeds United, meanwhile, were fearing a rare home loss, then sort of relieved by a draw seemingly salved, before Elland Road was sent into raptures as Pascal Struijk, the most unlikely of heroes, completed a late brace with 95 minutes on the clock.
So Dan Neil, the Black Cats skipper, was understandably somewhat conflicted when asked to sum up his feelings post-match.
A mixture of pride and regret.
Sunderland captain Dan Neil admits Leeds United’s ‘quality’ shone through
“First-half, I thought, was a really good half,” Neil sighs, Sunderland holding onto the lead given to them by a rampaging Wilson Isidor until Struijk flicked in his first of the evening in the 78th minute.
“I thought we controlled the ball in and out of possession, especially out of possession. We limited them to pretty much nothing. I thought we transitioned really well on them. Could have maybe had two before half-time.
“Second-half, we defended really well and the lads put their bodies on the line and gave everything.”
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris highlighted Leeds United’s considerable strength in depth, Joe Rothwell entering the fray alongside Struijk and assisting both of the defender’s late goals.
Leeds also had the luxury of introducing Largie Ramazani, Mateo Joseph and the vastly experienced Sam Byram. Willy Gnonto – a forward who would walk into most Championship starting XIs – remained on the bench.
Neil, meanwhile, admits that Sunderland simply could not escape the sheer weight of pressure exerted upon them in a one-sided second-half. Leeds ended the game with 21 shots to the visitor’s six, not to mention nearly 70 per cent of the possession.
“When you come up against a team of this quality, wave after wave of attack, it’s tough to keep that going and fatigue sets in,” Neil admits. “Ultimately, I think that’s whats happened. A little bit of a loss of concentration on the two set-plays.
“There are still 15 games go. We’ve got to take the positives from the first-half and how well we defended for the majority of the second.”
Daniel Farke explains why Leeds deserved to beat the Black Cats
The wild celebrations following Struijk’s stoppage time heroics – even the usually-reserved Daniel Farke let himself go in the moment – meant this was an occasion with a genuine ‘hallmark of champions’ sort of feel about it.
Leeds could have ended up only four points above Sunderland, but finished the night ten points clear of the Black Cats. On margins as fine as these, titles and permutations are so frequently decided.
“I was always convinced that we would have the chance to score and win the game,” a relieved Farke smiles, Leeds leapfrogging Yorkshire neighbours Sheffield United ahead of next week’s potential title-decider at Bramall Lane.
“It was a very tight game between two good teams. [Sunderland] are a strong team and are really good at defending. They are really dangerous on the counter attack.
“But in the end, I don’t think there was a doubt that it was a well deserved in. We dominated them, more or less, from the first second. We had nearly 70 per cent possession, 21 shots to six shots and ten to zero corners.
“Football is sometimes like this and they scored a goal out of one situation. We missed so many situations where we were perhaps not tidy in the box. Sometimes you need set-pieces to win the game.
“It was a tight win and the last second wins are the most emotional wins. But, nevertheless, it was a deserved win. They were good deliveries from Joe Rothwell and it was the right decision to bring them [the substitutes] on the pitch.”
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