Leeds United Jury: Young guns take centre stage but Leeds fail to convince in derby win

Our fans' jury have their say on Leeds united's 2-1 victory over Barnsley.
Paul Heckingbottom directs operations from the dugout against Barnsley.Paul Heckingbottom directs operations from the dugout against Barnsley.
Paul Heckingbottom directs operations from the dugout against Barnsley.

DAVID WATKINS

Make no mistake, this was a big game for Leeds, or rather it was a big game for Paul Heckingbottom. He was in real need of three points as fans wondered what exactly he’d brought to our party. For Barnsley points were vital to their very future in the Championship.

The 2-1 result in our favour was welcome but the game will have not changed many minds as to where exactly Leeds are as we head towards another vital summer break. Leeds once again had good spells and we scored two good goals. Tom Pearce looked almost Charlie Taylor-ish as he ran straight as an arrow through the Tykes’ defence to bury his shot in the corner while Kemar Roofe came alive to skin Mills and put the second on a silver platter for Gjanni Alioski to score.

Tom Pearce celebrates his goal against Barnsley.Tom Pearce celebrates his goal against Barnsley.
Tom Pearce celebrates his goal against Barnsley.
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But the ills of this season were all still there, sloppy passing constantly giving the ball away cheaply, indecision at the back and a general lack of fluency. Add to that a petulant kick at a water bottle by Samuel Saiz as he was substituted and the picture was far from pretty and but for some heroics from Bailey Peacock-Farrell and poor finishing from the visitors it could have been a lot more ugly.

Man of the match: Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

MATTHEW EVANS

Leeds United did just enough to beat an abysmal Barnsley side. It’s heartbreaking to see Elland Road bathed in sunshine with a 30,000 crowd enjoying a home win when it counts for nothing.

Tom Pearce celebrates his goal against Barnsley.Tom Pearce celebrates his goal against Barnsley.
Tom Pearce celebrates his goal against Barnsley.

I couldn’t wait for it to be over and with 180 minutes of pointless (perhaps literally) football still to come for us, the wait goes on and on for this waste of a season to be over.

Watching two sides playing such aimless football amounts to a couple of black marks against Paul Heckingbottom’s name, the guy who has overseen some of the worst football at both clubs over the course of the campaign.

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It wasn’t all bad, the young players proved their worth yet again, and we certainly wouldn’t have got the three points without the excellent Bailey Peacock-Farrell. Tom Pearce was my man of the match for the second game in a row. His performance was deserving of praise even without the goal but for such a young kid to drive forward from left-back and slot one in the bottom corner must be a dream come true. A bright moment in a dull period.

Man of the match: Tom Pearce.

KEITH INGHAM

Leeds recorded only their third double of season when they beat Barnsley 2-1 at Elland Road.

Leeds were on the front foot from the the first whistle and were rewarded after 18 minutes when a Barnsley attack broke down leaving the ball at the feet of youngster Tom Pearce, the 20-year-old strode forward and unleashed a shot past Adam Davies into the corner of the net.

Barnsley levelled matters when Paudie O’Connor unluckily put Zeki Fryers’ cross past his own goalkeeper with 10 minutes of the half to play but within minutes of the start of the second half, Leeds were ahead again. Superb work by Kemar Roofe saw him get into the penalty area to set up Gjanni Alioski – the winger slammed the ball past Davies.

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Another game that could have gone either way, Barnsley may feel hard done by because they had as many chances to win the game.

Leeds and the fans on the other hand will just be glad to see another three points added to their total.

Samuel Saiz’s petulant behaviour at being substituted is another example of a player with undoubted skill but who still needs to learn that it’s about the ‘team’ not just about him!

Man of the match: Matthew Pennington.

MIKE GILL

Leeds United overcame Barnsley in an unconvincing but welcome tussle at Elland Road.

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After taking the lead with a fine 25-yarder from Tom Pearce Leeds took their eye off the ball and allowed Barnsley back into the game when Pontus Jansson missed a cross from Zeki Fryers and the ball cannoned into the net via the back of Paudie O’Connor’s legs.

On 52 minutes Gjanni Alioski put United ahead after some excellent running from Kemar Roofe.

Unfortunately, Leeds suffered another energy lapse and only the heroics of Bailey Peacock-Farrell kept them in the lead.

There was some histrionics from Samuel Saiz who kicked a water bottle when substituted but the little Spaniard must admit that he has had a poor season since his dismissal at Newport.

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Later it was good to see Adam Forshaw put a few minutes in. There are still a lot of questions to be answered but a win is a win and all the sweeter for being a rarity these days.

Man of the match: Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

SHAUN SMITH

Often, as I pick up bottles of Koki Kola and boxes of Krusty Korn Corn flakes from the shelves of our local budget supermarket, I think to myself, what a lot of fuss people make about ‘quality’. My groceries are a fraction of the cost and in the main part, perfectly edible. Three points picked up against Barnsley, a win is a win and no-one is bothered about silly old ‘quality’.

Except, people are.

At one-nil up, Leeds tried to swagger like Jagger but instead staggered like Keith Richards. Barnsley’s game plan of letting us have the ball so we’d score for them, paid off. Thankfully, the Tykes are similarly bereft of anything resembling up-market and managed to throw in the miss of the season to this basket case of a game.

The one moment that raised the match above the absolute bog standard was Kemar Roofe’s run for the winning goal.

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With Stuart Dallas out for the rest of the season, Brenda the tea lady and Matthew Pennington battled it out for the right-back spot and with Brenda pulling up with a groin strain in training, Penners was given the nod.

He did better as the game wore on but his square-pegness contributed to the general misfiring that has been in evidence since the defeat at Millwall back in the good old days before confidence disappeared down the drain like bottles of Koki Cola.

Man of the match: Bailey Peacock-Farrell.