Crysencio Summerville sends 'fighting' message to Leeds United teammates after Middlesbrough win

Crysencio Summerville has urged his Leeds United teammates to ‘enjoy every moment’ of what looks set to be the tightest Championship promotion race in recent memory.

Leeds put themselves back into the automatic promotion places with a hard-fought and dramatic 4-3 win at Middlesbrough on Monday evening, with key man Summerville netting a clinical brace to bookend efforts from Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Gnonto. The Dutchman slotted home from the penalty spot to put his side level at 1-1 before a trademark curling finish made it 4-2 on the hour.

That double has taken him to 19 Championship goals for the season and the 22-year-old will prove crucial to United’s chances of finishing in the top two. There are only two games remaining and pressure is at boiling point, but Summerville insists the key will be to relish that feeling.

"I'm very happy with the two goals to help the team,” Summerville told Sky Sports shortly after full-time. “It's a very important three points. The fight is not over yet and we keep going.

“I like to play in these games. We knew it was going to be difficult. I tried to help my team and today was my lucky day. "[The promotion race] is very intense. We enjoy every moment. We are competing with the top teams and we have to keep going."

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That second Summerville effort looked to have set Leeds up for a comfortable finish but Emmanuel Latte Lath’s looping 87th-minute header brought on the nerves as Middlesbrough pushed for a late equaliser. Michael Carrick’s side had some half-chances to break Whites’ hearts but eventually fell short, with a crucial three points heading to West Yorkshire.

Summerville form coming at the perfect time

With just two games remaining and so little room for error, Leeds need their key players to step up to the plate and Summerville looks to be rediscovering form at the perfect time. The Dutchman endured a relatively quiet period either side of the March international break and, particularly during his side’s three-game winless run recently, that drop in performance levels affected others.

Summerville failed to register a single shot on target against any of Coventry City, Sunderland or Blackburn Rovers and with United’s attack so heavily focused on that left side, overall threat was lacking. The Championship’s Player of the Year was back to his scintillating best on Monday, adding an assist for Gnonto to his brilliant brace.

Helped in part by the return of Anfernee Dijksteel to Middlesbrough’s line-up - Luke Ayling was ineligible to play against his parent club - Summerville took advantage of a more open game and that in turn allowed the likes of Georginio Rutter and Junior Firpo to work their magic down that side. Leeds have two massive games remaining and will be counting on their top-scoring talisman to continue this purple patch.

There are just a matter of days before another difficult away-day at Queens Park Rangers on Friday evening, but the Whites head to Loftus Road knowing victory would put them four points clear of Ipswich Town. Kieran McKenna’s side will have two games in hand by that point but trips to Hull City and Coventry will be no walkover.

The race for automatic promotion is set to go right down to the final day, with Leeds welcoming Southampton to Elland Road while Ipswich and Leicester host Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers respectively.