Norwich City 2 Leeds United 3: YEP Jury verdicts

MIKE GILL

Leed United started confidently and were the better team in the first half but it was Norwich who took the lead through Robbie Brady.

Rob Green got a hand to the ball but it was a bit of a goal-line pat-a-cake reminiscent of the QPR game. The Canaries fans were of course all to happy to mock their former hero.

This Leeds side however is much more resilient than the awestruck bunch who capitulated at Loftus Road in August. You can also sense the confidence in our fans who gave the team a ringing round of applause at half-time despite the reverse.

To say that the second half was a rollercoaster would be an understatement. Firstly, Pontus Jansson rose above everybody to score a cracking header from a perfectly placed corner from Pablo Hernandez.

He then disappeared into the Leeds crowd ostensibly to search for his magic hat. For this he received a yellow card but nobody cared.

Chris Wood was next on the scoresheet, converting a great cross from Luke Ayling after good work from Eunan O’Kane

United appeared to be heading for another victory against Norwich but Kyle Lafferty netted an equaliser in the 87th minute.

This would have broken the hearts of a fainter-hearted side than Leeds but these guys keep going.

Seven minutes of time were added and instead of hanging on, United went for the jugular. Ronaldo Vieira initially seemed to have difficulty controlling a short pass from O’Kane’s free-kick but he steadied himself and with the composure of a veteran, whacked a screaming 35-yard shot into the back of the net.

All hell broke loose and the Canaries must have known that they were now finally beaten by a Leeds side who never gave up.

This was a brilliant team performance catapulting Leeds into sixth place and causing more self doubt for the Canaries.

Man of the match: Pontus Jansson.

KEITH INGHAM

How Norwich must be sick of the sight of Ronaldo Vieira! The 18-year-old midfielder hit a wonderful injury-time winner in one of the games of the season at Carrow Road.

Leeds had had several chances but it was the hosts who took the lead, Robbie Brady benefitting from some ‘generous’ defending.

Leeds, as hard as they tried, could not force a first-half equaliser.

That would change just before the hour, Pontus Jansson’s back post header gliding past McGovern in the City goal.

Even better was to follow when Chris Wood notched his 11th goal of the season from inside the area.

With time nearly up, another twist in this game came when substitute Kyle Lafferty beat Rob Green with a volley inside the six-yard area.

The final twist in the thriller was to follow, Eunan O’Kane fed Vieira and the youngster’s shot from over 30 yards somehow beat the bemused Norwich goalkeeper.

What a game!

Words such as incredible, brilliant, superb can be used to describe this Leeds United squad at the moment. They never give in until the final whistle.

Garry Monk deserves so much credit for the club getting into the top six.

Man of the match: Luke Ayling.

DAVID WATKINS

Oh my word! This was a defining moment I believe; prior to the game I told myself that any sort of positive result or a decent performance against Norwich and I would accept that this Leeds side is capable of doing great things this season. We came away with all three points but more importantly there were times in the game when we were truly superb.

Until now there was the doubt that we hadn’t really beaten a side that has proved itself to be a top side this season – even Sheffield Wednesday have fallen away for example. But Norwich are a decent side, despite their recent faltering run and would have been all the more fired up after their thumping down at Brighton. Yet for the first 20 minutes and much of the second half we outplayed them.

Okay, maybe Norwich too will fade away and we did allow them to boss us for the period up to half-time after they scored but surely there can be no doubting anymore that this Leeds side has all the tools to make a big impact on the Championship.

Man of the match: Pontus Jansson.

GARY NEWBOULD

Leeds United registered another three points to move into the play-off places by 5pm on Saturday evening.

This away victory against one of the favourites for promotion was totally deserved, despite falling a goal behind against the run of play in the first half and almost surrendering the three points late on.

A debut goal from cult hero Pontus Jansson as well as superb finishes from Chris Wood and Ronaldo Vieira completed a performance which sent the loyal hordes into ecstasy.

Man of the match: Chris Wood.

MATTHEW EVANS

What a performance, what a game and what a result. There are a number of things that teams need to be doing if they have any hope of getting promoted from this league.

First they have to be going to the homes of hotly-tipped rival clubs and getting a result. Norwich were certainly that.

Second, they should be getting goals from throughout the team. A defender and midfielder scoring added to Chris Wood’s obligatory goal is very promising indeed and Jansson and Vieira are now off the mark.

Lastly they need to snatch results in the dying minutes of games where others would be playing for the whistle.

All boxes ticked, bring on Newcastle.

Man of the match: Pontus Jansson.

STEPHEN CLARK

I am having difficulty writing this report as I am desperately trying to keep my feet on the ground, but after such a superb win it is very difficult. Leeds United were simply magnificent in beating a Norwich City side who are expected to be in the shake-up for promotion, and in doing so have catapulted themselves into the genuine contender bracket.

This was no lucky win. Leeds were the dominant side for at least 70 minutes of the game and were full value for the 2-1 lead that they held as the clock wound down. But as probably most of us expected, Kyle Lafferty’s late equaliser burst the bubble we were floating in and looked like snatching an ill-deserved point for the Canaries.

However, Ronaldo Vieira obviously was not a fan of the Tweety Pie cartoons and for the second time in a fortnight did his best Sylvester the cat impression to kill the Canaries. His ridiculous long-range strike earned Leeds all three points and sent the fans into cloud cuckoo land.

Leeds are now ensconced firmly in the play-off hunt. The visit of Newcastle in two weeks’ time which was already eagerly anticipated is now going to be an incredible atmosphere. It all harks back to a cold December day back in 1989 when Ian Baird scored one of my all-time favourite goals. That goal put Leeds firmly in the chase for the title. A similar result against the Magpies in a couple of weeks will see those memories and hopes all come flooding back.

Man of the match: Chris Wood.