Chris spots his chance to keep up Ell of a run
TWO late goals helped Leeds step up their play-off push as they saw off Nigel Clough’s brave Burton at Elland Road.
Chris Wood converted from the spot in the 83rd minute after Souleymane Doukara had been tripped.
And substitute Doukara made the points secure deep in stoppage time as the hosts caught Albion on the break.
It was the fifth win in nine games for Garry Monk’s men who stretched their unbeaten home run to six matches.
The Leeds boss said: “It wasn’t the best of displays, considering the context of the week we have had. Today was important and it was important to get the win.”
On Tuesday, Leeds were delighted to beat Norwich on penaties to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
But yesterday Monk said: “We are not overly happy with the performance but are delighted with the desire to get the win.
“I was pushing the players to put on a good performance but I knew it would be hard after Tuesday night.
“We showed real character and determination to fight to the end. We had to scrap but we knew we would get chances and it was about taking those chances.
“There is great spirit and there is a good mood around the place. We have had a great week.”
Burton had come closest to opening the scoring when Matt Palmer crashed a header against the crossbar in the 35th minute.
The defeat leaves Burton still searching for their first Championship away win.
Disappointed Albion boss Nigel Clough felt the defeat summed up his side’s bad luck on the road.
He said: “That’s what it has been like for us away from home, things are just not falling our way.
“We have to remember that we are Burton Albion playing at Leeds, we are playing against a massive team.
“Leeds are a good team and this is a very hard place to come. This season is a great learning curve for the players who are learning all the time.
“We had our chances and if Matt Palmer’s header had gone in things could have been different.”
The Gunners boss feared his side’s attempt to temporarily go top of the Premier League had been grounded when Jermain Defoe rocketed home an equaliser from the penalty spot.
But Wenger’s quick-thinking to send on Olivier Giroud as a second-half substitute won Arsenal the game with the bearded French force scoring two in five fabulous minutes.
Alexis Sanchez also added to his first-half header and Sunderland were doomed to another crash-landing with boss David Moyes sipping, in his own words, more poison.
No such stomach-churning for Wenger who could not hide his delight as he beamed about enjoying playing the game of roulette with his multi-talented stars.
The Frenchman said: “When you have quality on the bench it’s easy to make good decisions. Giroud, the first two balls he touched were two goals.
“When they score goals there is no headache – it’s when they don’t score. Nobody can play all the games and it’s down to me to find the right balance.
“Sometimes I can play them together, sometimes separately. But everyone should get the number of games they want.
“Sanchez is doing extremely well and I believe he is enjoying it. Olivier is a guy who is absolutely fantastic mentally. He comes on and he’s strong every time.
“Every time he is questioned he gives you the right answer on the pitch and I admire that in him. He’s a guy who has faced some difficult questions.
“Even before the European Championships he was questioned by the crowd and in the end everyone was on his side.” The