Pascal Struijk 'grateful' for big Leeds United injury boost as verdict given on star man's electric form
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Pascal Struijk believes Leeds United are getting the best out of Daniel James by allowing the lightning-fast winger to play to his strengths.
James was the star man once again on Tuesday night as Leeds went top of the Championship with a thrilling 3-1 win over Middlesbrough. The 27-year-old had a part to play in all three goals, whipping in the cross for Willy Gnonto’s opener and firing a decisive ball into Ao Tanaka for Brenden Aaronson’s late sealer.
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Hide AdBut it was his goal that put Leeds back on the front foot at 2-1 with 15 minutes to go, with a tight touch and thunderous finish now typical of a player showing the kind of composure that had been lacking previously. James now has four goal contributions in his last five appearances and Struijk is delighted to see his Welsh teammate hit form.
“We know the quality he has,” Struijk told the YEP of James. “I think at the moment he’s really playing to his strengths. He's a quality player, you can see with the clubs he was at before, and we’re just really happy he’s finding his form like this. [The attackers] put in the work and you see the results on the pitch. This season we have a little bit more rotation which gives players more freshness when they're called upon. The form he's in, I'm just happy he’s on our team.”
Leeds extended their home winning run to eight with Tuesday’s victory but by no means had it all their own way. Middlesbrough will expect to be in the promotion picture come May and gave as good as they got at Elland Road, with the game finely balanced right up until Aaronson’s added-time tap-in made it 3-1.
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Hide AdDaniel Farke’s side came out quick but, as has become a rarity in LS11, were made to suffer in periods. Fortunately, they remain as strong as ever defensively and were able to keep the progressive Boro at arm’s length.
“Today was really important,” Struijk said of the game. “For us it's important we set the tone from the first minute. I think we were quite dominant today. In the second half we were sitting a bit deeper and scored an unlucky own-goal. But the reaction we showed, we showed great character.
“They are a quality side, we have to accept they have quality as well. They had spells and at this time, for us it's about being solid, not conceding and then we can catch them on the counter-attack. We scored some good goals from that. We just go game by game, this was obviously a really important game for us. A little bit of a local derby so for us it was important to get the three points.”
Leeds have steadily asserted themselves as promotion favourites under Struijk’s leadership, but the centre-back might soon have to give up the armband - albeit for reasons no one will complain about. It’s been over two months since Ethan Ampadu picked up a serious knee injury and his return from the bench will provide a major boost going forward.
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Hide Ad“It's great to have him back,” stand-in skipper Struijk added. “Everyone knows what he can do. He's got great quality and with having him back, another leader on the pitch, I'm really grateful he's back and healthy again.”