Leeds stay on course with Klich clincher

IT IS a little too soon for the fizz, but Marcelo Bielsa had a bottle of sparkling water erupt in his grasp as he reflected on a third straight 1-0 victory that suggests Leeds have the minerals for this promotion fight.

The Argentine was extolling the virtues of his team’s aggression and resilience when he sought refreshment, only to succeed in drenching the desk in front of him.

But it will be champagne come May should Leeds continue in this vein, having moved five points clear of third- placed Fulham thanks to Mateusz Klich’s first-half winner.

Boro boss Jonathan Woodgate maintains he is not looking at the league table. It is about time he took a peek, albeit through his fingers, for his side are now only out of the bottom three on goal difference.

It is often debated as to whether this fixture is a derby, but, given that two divisions could separate the clubs from next season, that argument is likely to be shelved for a few years. League One is an everincreasing danger for Boro after this ninth game without victory and third without a goal.

The clubs may be 72 miles apart — and hold a long- standing dislike — but on the pitch Boro are a million miles behind.

Woodgate points to their work ethic and determination as reasons for encouragement, but that is rendered redundant without any craft to compliment it.

‘I thought we matched a really good Leeds team,’ he said. ‘But we need to create more chances to score goals. We have done that for most of the season. The last few games we haven’t.’

Bielsa said: ‘The team fought a lot and were very aggressive. They protected their result. They did not lose their calm and were tough to play against.’

The first half ended with the visiting fans taunting their hosts with a chorus of ‘That’s why you’re going down’. And they had a point.

Boro never looked like scoring and, were it not for goalkeeper Aynsley Pears, they could have trailed by at least four goals.

Pears’ resistance was never likely to last 90 minutes and he had performed heroically before Klich steered home in injury time in the first half.

Former Boro striker Patrick Bamford had spent the morning responding to a good luck message from Jon Bon Jovi on talk-SPORT radio, the rock star having been made aware of the player’s fondness for his music. But Bamford struck all the wrong chords and was denied on several occasions by Pears.

At the end of the night though, Leeds were only looking up.