The problem of Leeds United's frail defence is refusing to disappear overnight. Their misfiring attack, on the other hand, was always likely to banish its ills in the blink of an eye.
Last weekend, Leeds were being categorised as a team who knew the way to goal but were making hard work of crossing the line.
Nine days, nine goals and two victories later, the matter of whether their forwards had lost their touch has been conclu
sively settled.
United's defeat to Huddersfield Town last Saturday highlighted the two factors which have most influenced the club's results since their run of six straight victories was ended by Peterborough United at the start of October.
At one end of the field, a flimsy defence was causing Gary McAllister to scratch his head with almost as much intensity as a frontline which lacked a consistently lethal attitude in front of goal.
In the space of a week, one half of that equation has solved itself and United's rousing defeat of Hartlepool at Elland Road was a lesson in the art of being clinical.
Danny Wilson, Hartlepool's manager, contended that Saturday's 4-1 scoreline was more favourable to Leeds than it should have been, and his opinion was fair. But the debatable merit of the scale of United's victory was a minor argument, lessened in importance by the certainty that Leeds deserved their win.
Having opened the scoring after 15 minutes, Leeds invited Hartlepool back into the match with a goal which mirrored so many scored against McAllister's team this season – soft, charitable and easily avoidable – but the test to United's character was ultimately passed.
Fabian Delph completed an individually memorable week in which he made his England Under-21 debut and reached his 19th birthday with a delicious goal in the 50th minute, and the 2-1 lead it afforded United placed control of the game back in their hands.
Luciano Becchio and Jermaine Beckford scored again before the final whistle, compiling a scoreline that failed to reflect the extent to which United had been wobbled by Hartlepool before their crucial third goal but which also prevented the type of late, ill-deserved blow which Huddersfield struck at Elland Road on November 15.
Wilson adopted a sensible and familiar counter-attacking strategy, a system which is often effective against Leeds' preference for dominance, and the contrast of styles led to an excellent fixture, packed with incident and the essence of a serious contest.
Hereford United, who lost 1-0 at Leeds in September, were more convincingly beaten than Hartlepool.
A shot from visiting striker Kevin Kyle which hit the crossbar while Leeds led 2-1 was a critical moment, and Wilson was no more impressed by the goals his side conceded than McAllister was by Joel Porter's 25th-minute strike.
The second-half goals from Beckford and Becchio were created by long balls towards Hartlepool's box, both of which found Wilson's defenders timid and vulnerable.
United's victory relied on restraint and patience, two of the most visible and valuable qualities that McAllister has fostered among his squad.
