This time we were made to work hard for our home win, but two late goals proved to be enough to take the points against Middlesbrough.

There were a couple of enforced changes to the starting line-up, due to injuries to both the full-backs. Byram came in on the right for Bogle, and Wöber played a full 90 minutes for the first time this season. And like Firpo, the Austrian played his part going forward, but also gave us a far more defensive cover on that side, keeping the much-vaunted Doak very quiet for much of the evening.

We did of course come into this game on a run of seven consecutive home wins, but this was mostly from a series of against the division’s lesser lights, whereas Middlesbrough were a team who had found a bit of form after a slow start to the season. Even so, Leeds had the better of the opening stages, and the pressure told as we went in front after 14 minutes.

James was sent down the wing, and his cross took two deflections which wrong-footed the keeper. Dieng still got his foot to the ball, but could only direct it against Gnonto’s shins, and it bounced into the net via another touch off Dieng on the way in. Still, credit to Willy for making the run into the right place to take advantage.

But around the middle of the first half, Boro seemed to be working their way back into the game, and there was an anxious moment when McGree sneaked up behind Rodon unnoticed, to nick the ball just as our man was about to clear it. Rodon caught the back of his heel instead, but thankfully the ref was too far away to be certain it was a penalty. It might have been given if we had VAR, but it would have been soft.

As half-time approached we reasserted our dominance, with Gnonto firing a fierce shot too close to Dieng and Aaronson blazing wide from a good position. And Wöber added to our already extensive catalogue of woeful free kicks, shooting into the wall not only from his original shot, but from the rebound as well.

But after the break it was Middlesbrough who seemed to be taking control, and when McGree forced Meslier into a fine save, it was only a temporary respite. As the resulting corner came over Wöber rose to meet it, but found the ball was a little too high for him, and it skimmed off the top of his head, and looped over everyone else into the far corner of the net.

At that stage it looked like the visitors could even go on to win the game, especially when Doak broke free for once. But the youngster hesitated for a fraction of a second, which was just long enough for Meslier to race out and smother the danger. On 69 minutes it was time for Farke’s usual re-shuffling of his forward line to see if he could force a victory, so Solomon and Piroe came on for Joseph and Gnonto.

And five minutes later we were back in front, as Tanaka won the ball and then set James free down the right, but the Welshman didn’t quite get enough power into his shot, and Dieng was able to get down for the save. So when he found himself in the same position a moment later, this time via Byram and Piroe, he just blasted his shot, and sent it right into the top corner of the net.

As the final stages of the game approached Byram was starting to run out of puff, and his replacement was Ampadu, who took the captain’s armband from Struijk as he launched his comeback. And he added right back to the list of positions he has played in for Leeds, leaving me to wonder exactly when Schmidt was going to get a game.

There was still work to be done to clinch the win, and there was a groan when seven minutes of injury time were announced, with Boro still looking lively. We needed one more goal to seal the win, and it came in the 92nd minute. With the visitors chasing an equaliser they were badly stretched as James found Tanaka racing into the box.

Just as we thought Japan was about to be the eleventh country to provide a Leeds goalscorer this season, Tanaka unselfishly squared the ball towards Solomon, before Aaronson bundled the ball into the net. We had to look at the linesman to check there was no flag, but Solomon had been behind the ball when it was played, and Aaronson had been played onside by a defender who had raced past him.

And so we could celebrate one of our most impressive wins of the season, against a good side who came to try to win the game, rather than retreat into the ‘low block’ that we accustomed to seeing from so many teams. Daniel Farke certainly thought so when he spoke to the BBC after the game.

"I think it was a well deserved win, in the end. But I want to congratulate Middlesbrough on a really good away performance. They were positive and that makes our win a bit sweeter because we played against an excellent side.”

"It was a really good first half, but the feeling in such a tight game was that we wasted too many chances. After such an unlikely equaliser, it is difficult to turn the tide again but that is what we did and many compliments to the players."

And we ended the night an all-important four points clear of third place, as Burnley were surprisingly held to a draw by Derby. We had in fact swapped opponents with the Lancashire funsters, so we’ve gained quite an advantage over them, as they also drew at home to Boro on Saturday.

We did also go back to the top of the table, but that won’t really count unless Sheffield United drop points against Millwall tonight. There are still five nerve-wracking months ahead, and a few other teams could get themselves into the promotion picture, but I’m starting to get a good feeling about this season.

Reuters

Leeds United Polls