Leeds celebrate accordingly. They know they’re nearly there, so close to a return to the big time. It’s been such a long wait - 16 years for one of the biggest clubs in the land - that you can understand the nerves they showed today. It’s results over performances at this stage, and those three points, ground out, have put them on the verge of glory. Pity poor Barnsley, though, who remain bottom and now need to win their final two matches to stay up, while hoping other results go their way. They looked anything but a relegation outfit, and will wonder how they didn’t get something out of this match. Their inability to convert one of many chances almost certainly tells a bigger story. Anyway, thanks for reading this MBM.
FULL TIME: Leeds United 1-0 Barnsley
Leeds get over the line! They were made to work by an impressive Barnsley side - how on earth are they bottom? - but held out. And now they’re one point away from that long-awaited return to the Premier League!
90 min +5: Nervous, Leeds fans? Of course. We understand.
90 min +4: Shackleton immediately romps down the left and draws a foul from Sollbauer, who is booked. It’s not been the Barnsley defender’s day.
90 min +3: The sub Hernandez is hooked, and he’s beyond livid, kicking a water bottle as Shackleton comes on in his place.
90 min +2: Mowatt floats a dreadful free kick straight out of play. Goal kick.
90 min +1: In the first of four added minutes, Dallas has a whack from a tight angle on the right, then Hernandez is booked for a lunge on Styles.
90 min: Sollbauer flies in recklessly on Bamford, who was hoping to break into the box from the right. It’s surely a foul, though not a penalty, contact just outside the area. But the referee gives nothing. That’s a poor decision, not least because Sollbauer launched himself into the air, both sets of studs showing. Bamford is highly irritated.
89 min: Chaplin reaches the byline out on the left, Leeds backtracking in a panic. But his cutback is aimless and hacked clear. This is proper fingernail-bothering stuff for Leeds fans.
87 min: Leeds are either deliberately sitting back, holding on to what they have, or struggling to get out of their final third, the choice is yours. Barnsley continue to probe.
85 min: Bamford, Alioski and Hernandez threaten to counter, launching a three-on-two attack, but over-elaborate and the flag goes up for offside. A big chance to threaten the Barnsley goal is carelessly wasted.
84 min: Another change for Barnsley. Oduor, formerly of the Leeds academy, replaces Williams.
82 min: Styles diddles Hernandez out on the left and suddenly he’s free. But having done all the hard and skilful work, he then slips over. Nothing’s working for Barnsley, who have tried pretty much everything.
81 min: Hernandez curls a cross in from the right. Bamford attacks the ball but Andersen gets there first to clear.
80 min: In midfield, Klich goes down easily near Andersen, who sarcastically applauds the fall. It earns the Barnsley centre-back a firm talking-to by the referee, but nothing more.
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78 min: Barnsley take off Brown and throw on Schmidt.
76 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, but Barnsley come at Leeds again in short order, Brown crossing from the right touchline, Woodrow sliding in with a view to poking home. White’s last-ditch challenge diverts the ball out for another corner. One corner leads to another, and then Leeds finally mop up, but they surely can’t keep on like this. Barnsley have done absolutely everything but score.
74 min: Leeds are a ragged mess. Ludewig curls in from the right. Woodrow is in acres of space inside the area. He’s got more time than he thinks, and spins hectically before shooting towards the top right. Meslier is forced to tip over.
73 min: Barnsley continue to rat-a-tat at the door. A corner from the left drops to the feet of Woodrow, six yards out. Woodrow must score, but Cooper arrives from nowhere, channelling his inner Big Jack, to bravely block. Last-ditch brilliance.
72 min: A free kick for Barnsley out on the right. Mowatt swings it into the mixer. The ball drops towards Chaplin, who shapes to volley a screamer goalwards. Struijk intervenes just in time to clear.
70 min: Klich rolls a pass down the inside-left channel, hoping to release Bamford into the box. But Andersen sticks out a telescopic leg to guide the ball away from danger. That’s marvellous defence, because Barnsley were opened up there.
69 min: We go again.
67 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, and that’s drinks.
66 min: And then Leeds break quickly, coming so close to netting a precious second. Struijk releases Alioski out on the left, Alioski plays a glorious first-time diagonal pass towards Bamford, racing into the box from the right. Bamford fires towards the bottom right, but Walton turns the shot around the post. What a save! How on earth is this match still 1-0? It could conceivably be anything.
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65 min: Thomas is unfairly checked out on the left and it’s a chance for Barnsley to load the box. Mowatt swings in the free kick, and Sollbauer tries to redeem himself by flashing a header goalwards. It’s straight at Meslier. So close to the equaliser.
63 min: Leeds are rocking a little. They lose the ball to Barnsley’s press, Thomas and Styles combining down the left to win another corner. Bamford clears this one too. The hosts are getting nervous.
62 min: Barnsley press down the left and win a corner. Styles takes. Bamford blooters a Charltonesque header miles upfield.
60 min: A defensive change by Bielsa, who is clearly concerned about Barnsley’s dominance since the break. Harrison makes way for Struijk.
58 min: Leeds ping it around, with a view to settling things down a bit. It’s a welcome lull for the hosts.
56 min: Thomas drives at the Leeds defence, and has a chance to tee up Brown to his left, but the pass is no good and intercepted by Harrison. Leeds have been a little skittish since the restart, they could really do with a second goal to steady their nerves ... and those of their long-suffering fans. “I have followed Leeds United for over 50 years and they always make me nervous on match day,” writes Hazel Whitefoot Sliwka. “We seem to make silly mistakes. Let’s hope this game is different.”
54 min: Bamford is sent clear down the middle by Klich, but he’s carelessly gone too soon and the flag goes up.
53 min: Poor old Costa is helped onto a stretcher and carried off down the tunnel. Mowatt’s challenge looked innocuous, a garden-variety obstruction, nothing more. But the Leeds man has paid a heavy price.
51 min: Barnsley are knocking at the door. Woodrow shanks one from the edge of the box. Williams whistles a shot across the face of goal from the left. And then Styles threads a shot inches wide of the right-hand post. Since the restart, 58% of the game has been played out in Leeds’ final third. The visitors will wonder how they’re not level.
49 min: Leeds are forced into a second change. Mowatt shunted Costa off the pitch, and the Leeds player fell awkwardly on his hip. After a couple of minutes of treatment, the towel’s thrown in. Alioski comes on in his place.
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47 min: Berardi’s looping header threatens to drop into the top-right corner of the Barnsley net, but Walton claims.
46 min: A clean sheet in this second half, and Leeds will be one point away from a return to the Premier League after 16 long years in the wilderness. But the nerves will be jangling, and they nearly concede in the first 50 seconds of the half, the substitute Thomas whistling a shot from the edge of the box straight down Meslier’s throat. Barnsley came out all guns blazing there.
Leeds get the second half underway. Both sides have made a change: Hernandez has come on for Roberts, while Thomas replaces Halme.
Even more half-time entertainment. OK, so Leeds lost this match. But anyone reminiscing about Big Jack’s glory days may enjoy the full and frank exchange of views with Peter Osgood on 52 minutes, plus other assorted losses of temper scattered throughout this notoriously combative game. And he got his winner’s medal two years later, so all’s well that ends well.
Some more half-time entertainment. We spoil you, you know.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Leeds United 1-0 Barnsley
A highly entertaining first half comes to a close. On another day, Barnsley could be leading; they’ve had their chances. Then again, in that alternate reality they could be a couple more behind, because Leeds have carved out plenty of opportunities too. The hosts take a step closer to the Premier League, but expect relegation-threatened Barnsley to ask them a few more questions in the second period.
45 min +1: White skips past a couple of challenges before offloading to Klich, who slides Harrison away down the left. Harrison fires in a low cross, but with Bamford lurking, Sollbauer turns away.
45 min: Mowatt tries to find Brown with a floated cross from the left, but it’s easy pickings for Meslier.
43 min: Turns out Barnsley were unhappy with the goal, arguing that Bamford had run the ball out for a goal kick before cutting it back. But replays show the whole ball didn’t cross the line. Speaking of crossing a line ... “Isotonic beverages all round at Elland Road today where it is 21º C,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Yet 26 years ago Big Jack was raging at Fifa numpties who were blocking his Irish team from getting water in temperatures of 35º + in Orlando. And then they banned him for being a hot head!” Ha! That was a marvellous outpouring of righteous rage. It’s pretty much impossible not to have loved the big man.
41 min: Harrison glides past Ludewig on the left and reaches the byline. But upon entering the box, his radar goes awry and the ball’s gifted to Andersen with white shirts lining up to tap home from close range.
39 min: Costa has the beating of Williams down the right. Not for the first time today, he shrugs him off with ease and scampers towards the box. He should find Bamford in the middle, but his pass is no good. He gets a second opportunity, and finds Klich, just inside the area, but the resulting shot is blocked. Leeds are getting plenty of joy on this flank.
37 min: Another goal is surely just around the corner. But for whom? Woodrow should release Brown into the Leeds box down the inside-left channel, but the move doesn’t quite come off. Then Roberts skitters down the Leeds left, but tackles himself as he approaches the area. This is a good game.
35 min: Harrison’s presence out on the left forces Mowatt into conceding another corner. From the set piece, he flicks the ball across the face of goal for Bamford, but Styles, who has been Barnsley’s best player so far, whips clear under pressure. A goal saver.
34 min: A very scrappy game of head tennis breaks out in midfield. Bielsa doesn’t look particularly happy about it.
32 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but Leeds keep on keeping on. Harrison barrels down the left and sends a cross harmlessly into the stand behind. All of a sudden, Barnsley are suddenly hanging on a little.
30 min: Gerhard Struber stands in the technical area shaking his head sadly. His team were caught napping there. Leeds come at Barnsley again, Costa winning a corner off Andersen down the right.
GOAL! Leeds United 1-0 Barnsley (Sollbauer og 28)
Barnsley should be a goal up; instead they’re a goal down. Klich slides a pass down the inside-right channel to release Bamford. The striker can’t get a shot away, but he reaches the byline and fizzes the ball across the face of goal. Sollbauer, facing the wrong way and going at it with the wrong foot, accidentally pokes home, the ball apologetically trundling into the empty net.
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27 min: Styles drives in from the left. He breezes past Dallas and takes a whack from the edge of the box. His effort is deflected out for a corner on the left. Styles takes it himself, and it’s a glorious delivery. Anderson meets it with a diving header, six yards out ... but sends it wide right with Meslier’s feet planted. What a chance!
26 min: The players, hydrated and refreshed, start running around again.
25 min: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is drinks. Isotonic beverages all round. Chin chin!
24 min: Klich and Costa combine cutely down the right. Costa dribbles into the area and scuffs a shot goalwards. Bamford helps it on, only for Walton to claw instinctively away. It’s a wonderful reaction save, though it doesn’t really matter, the flag going up with Bamford caught offside.
22 min: Now it’s Leeds’ turn to swing a free kick into the opposition mixer. Harrison hooks this one in from deep on the left. There’s a quick game of pinball; eventually a double ricochet nestles in the arms of Walton. Not entirely sure how this is still goalless.
21 min: Mowatt trundles a Barnsley free kick down the right, and releases Chaplin into the Leeds box. But the home defence had held a high line well, and the flag correctly goes up for one of your old offside decisions.
19 min: It’s a nice open game, this. Bamford wriggles on the edge of the Barnsley D and makes a little room for a shot. But not quite enough. His effort squirts through a thicket of red-and-white-hooped legs, harmlessly to Walton. Then another phase of attack, as Klich chases a long throw down the right, gets a yard on Andersen, and whips a low cross down the corridor of uncertainty. He can feel aggrieved that nobody in white was taking a chance, because they’d have had a tap-in.
17 min: Styles slaloms down the middle of the park, having picked out a misplaced Dallas pass. Advancing towards the box, he defers to Woodrow, who slices a hysterical effort many yards wide right. Styles throws up his hands in theatrical irritation. His run deserved better.
16 min: That was a fine opportunity, Roberts was a little too studious there. Somewhere in a parallel universe, both teams have scored an early goal.
14 min: Barnsley overplay at the back, and Bamford regains possession for Leeds. He sliderules Roberts clear. Just as Roberts prepares to shoot, Andersen slides in from behind and toe-pokes brilliantly out for a corner. Nothing comes of that.
13 min: Leeds respond well, Harrison dribbling down the left and winning a corner. Walton punches the corner clear, just about, in a very uncertain style. Costa should get the ball back into the box from the right, but runs it out of play. Goal kick.
11 min: And here they go. They should be leading. Styles strips the ball off Dallas, out on the left. He feeds Woodrow, who slides a ball down the inside-left channel to release Brown in the box! Brown is one on one with Meslier, albeit at a tight angle, and sends his shot across the face of goal. Leeds breathe out and clear.
10 min: Halme robs Klich in the centre circle and looks for Chaplin down the left. The pass sails out for a goal kick, but it’s clear that Barnsley aren’t here just to make up the numbers in a top-versus-bottom rout.
9 min: Barnsley are making Leeds work, though, snapping away at their heels, constantly pressing in the fashionable style. There’s a nice tempo to the game.
7 min: Ayling rakes a long ball down the middle in the hope of springing Harrison clear, but again the pass is wayward and sails through to Walton in the Barnsley goal.
6 min: Roberts tries to release Klich down the left, with Barnsley having committed men forward in a futile attack. If the pass is right, Klich is away. But it’s not. It curls harmlessly into the stand, and the chance is gone.
4 min: Leeds are enjoying most of the early possession, a level of control being slowly established.
2 min: Roberts wins an early corner, dribbling with purpose down the left and giving Andersen a bit of a runaround. Harrison’s delivery isn’t all that, and Barnsley clear. Leeds on the front foot from the off.
Barnsley get the ball rolling ... after both teams take a knee. Black lives matter.
Before kick-off, a minute of respectful silence for Big Jack. Beautifully and perfectly observed.
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The teams are out! Leeds are in their famous Revie-inspired white shirts, while Barnsley play in their first-choice red, with old-fashioned hooped socks. No crowd means none of the usual atmosphere at this marvellous pile, but with Leeds so close to the end of their 16-year adventure in the lower divisions, the tension remains palpable. We’ll be off in a minute.
A brief word with Marcelo Bielsa. “We analyse every match deeply. We have to go step by step, every match. We need more focus in attack, when the team is compact and close to their own box.”
Barnsley coach Gerhard Struber speaks a good game. “We believe in our quality and our game style. The mood in our dressing room is very good. We know it’s a massive opponent today, but we have the right energy to fight in this 90 minutes. Maybe we can pick up points. On the ball they are very good, with a clear plan. Our plan is to give them no space and no time. With the right aggression and intensity ... we are ready for a fight and believe we can create a surprise.”
This is the first match at Elland Road since the passing of the great Jack Charlton. Tributes to the big man, who notched up a club-record 773 appearances for Leeds as an integral part of the sensational side built by Don Revie, have been placed outside the ground. Someone’s placed a flat cap among the flags, scarves and floral tributes, a lovely bittersweet touch.
One change for Leeds, who beat Swansea last time out. Gaetano Berardi replaces Kalvin Phillips.
Barnsley have to do without Elliot Simoes, injured when being kicked in the air by Wigan’s Danny Fox last Saturday. He’s one of two changes from that goalless draw, Marcel Ritzmaier dropping to the bench. In come Aapo Halme and Conor Chaplin.
The teams
Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Berardi, Cooper, Dallas, White, Helder Costa, Klich, Roberts, Harrison, Bamford.
Subs: Douglas, Poveda-Ocampo, Alioski, Casilla, Hernandez, Struijk, Shackleton, Stevens, Casey.
Barnsley: Walton, Ludewig, Sollbauer, Andersen, Jordan Williams, Halme, Styles, Mowatt, Brown, Woodrow, Chaplin.
Subs: Ben Williams, Bahre, Thomas, Ritzmaier, Schmidt, Oduor, Wolfe, Marsh, Collins.
Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia).
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Preamble
Leeds United can’t secure promotion back to the Premier League this evening ... but a win against Barnsley would bring them this close. Three points at Elland Road today, and they’ll be six points clear of third-placed Brentford with two games to go. The three-time champions of England will be as good as back.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are hot favourites today, not least because it’s top versus bottom in the Championship. They’ve won their last three matches to an aggregate score of 9-1. They’ve won nine of their last 11, having recovered from a month-long stutter at the start of the calendar year. They won 2-0 when the teams met at Oakwell back in September, the latest victory in a three-game run of success against their Tyke rivals.
However, Barnsley have improved since the arrival of Gerhard Struber as boss. They’ve won five and drawn three of their last 11 matches, and are battling hard to avoid relegation. A point would be so precious today - and they’ve kept three clean sheets in their last five matches. Leeds may prefer to concentrate on the four-goal shellacking Barnsley suffered 12 days ago at Stoke, so however you spin it, this could prove a 90-minute exercise in attack versus defence. It’s on!
Kick off: 5pm BST.
