Leeds United 2-2 West Ham United
These two Premier League clubs have experienced one striking similarity in recent months.
The shared experience of a manager being under pressure and, supposedly, a few games from being replaced in the hot seat.
Despite media speculation, that may never have been quite the case for either Jesse Marsch or David Moyes – although the former was certainly under scrutiny in October before a victory at Liverpool which was much of a shock as it was impressive.
More recently the focus has been firmly on Moyes who, while remaining steadfast that he has the confidence of the board, admitted pre-match he must start winning games to continue in the London Stadium dugout.
So, on the back of five successive league defeats, was this an ideal time for Leeds to be taking on the ‘hapless Hammers’?
Highlights of the game
Well for a while at Elland Road, it certainly seemed so.
After Rodrigo saw a shot deflected wide, Wilfried Gnonto had the home fans in raptures with a clinical finish beyond Lukasz Fabianski after a lovely disguised ball from Crysencio Summerville.
At that point the Hammers were second from bottom in the standings, certainly not what was expected, or what the SBOTOP Premier League betting odds reflected, when the club spent £140 million on new players last summer.
It could have been worse had Brenden Aaronson managed to keep a first-time shot down after he reacted quickly from a half-cleared corner.
Then though, some Premier League highlights for the ‘east enders’ who had travelled up from the capital.
Shortly before half-time, Jarrod Bowen went down under a challenge from Pascal Struijk and, while referee David Coote initially waved play on, once he was referred to his pitchside monitor, there was a certain degree of inevitability about what was to follow.
Likewise, despite stuttering slightly in his run, Lucas Paqueta calmly lifted the resulting spot-kick into the corner of the net to leave Illan Meslier with no chance.
If that was a great way for them to end the first half, there was an even better way for them to begin the second period.
In fact, they were ahead within a minute of the restart as Aaronson’s loose pass gifted the ball to Gianluca Scamacca and he produced a superb finish, taking one touch before firing a low shot off the inside of the post.
From this point, the home side were becoming agitated. Tempers frayed, touchlines became home for the exasperated (Marsch was later booked) and supporters of the hosts were booing.
Those boos turned to cheers with 20 minutes remaining when substitute Jack Harrison poked the ball into Rodrigo and the dangerous Spanish international did the rest.
As the rain came down, it was hard to know which way this contest would go but the home side had the edge.
There was almost a Leeds winner with four minutes remaining when Sam Greenwood’s corner was met by the head of Liam Cooper only for Michail Antonio to block on the line before the same player fired over with his second attempt.
Then it was West Ham’s turn to go close as a Declan Rice pass released Said Benrahma whose low ball skipped in front of Antonio and narrowly past the post.
There was still time for Fabianski to produce the save of the night as he clawed away a Rodrigo header with seconds left on the clock.
In the end, a draw was a fair result on the day West Ham paid tribute to their co-chairman, David Gold – there was spontaneous applause from fans of both sides when the stadium announcer offered sympathy, while a bunch of flowers was placed on the seat he would have been sat in.
One suspects, he would have enjoyed the cut and thrust of this encounter too.
Honours even at Elland Road.
Key statistics
As well as becoming the third youngest Italian scorer in Premier League history, Gnonto (19 years, 60 days) is Leeds’ youngest top-flight scorer since James Milner against Everton in April 2004 (18 years, 100 days).
Moyes has never lost away from home against Leeds United in the Premier League (won three, drawn two), the second best record of any manager who hasn’t lost there. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, with five, has ever won more Premier League away games at Elland Road.
The Hammers have never won three successive league fixtures at Leeds.
Until tonight, Leeds had lost their last five Premier League matches against London clubs, despite taking the lead in three of those games.
What’s next?
Attention turns to the FA Cup for both these teams.
Leeds have a tricky visit to Cardiff on Sunday (January 8), the day after the Hammers are at Brentford.
They return to league action next weekend, Leeds go to Aston Villa (Jan 13) and West Ham travel to Wolves (Jan 14).
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