DANE BOSS’ BACON SAIZ-ED
Christiansen given lift as Tykes are brushed aside
LEEDS eased the pressure on under-fire boss Thomas Christiansen with a cakewalk of a victory at Oakwell.
Seven defeats from nine games – including a 4-1 hiding at Wolves in midweek – had left Leeds floundering and the Dane fearing the worst.
But a sensational attacking display from Samu Saiz, ably assisted by fellow-scorer Ezgjan Alioski, blew Barnsley away from the get-go.
The lacklustre hosts never struggled out of first gear and, despite a brief second-half rally, were actually flattered by the 2-0 scoreline.
“We were second best,” said Tykes boss Paul Heckingbottom. “It’s not many times I’ve said that this season, but we weren’t good enough.
“There was a big difference in quality on that pitch. Their bigtime players, their technical players, they all performed. When they got into that final third, they showed their class. We didn’t. First-half, their keeper didn’t have a shot to save. We had one successful cross. We didn’t do enough, simple as that.”
As the defeats have mounted in recent weeks, Christiansen has faced difficult questions about his team’s lack of leadership, guts and fighting spirit.
What nobody ever doubted was their talent, as Heckingbottom acknowledged. Take form and confidence out of the equation and the Whites possess some of the division’s most potent weapons and, here, they all fired in unison.
Saiz, in particular, was deft and elusive behind Caleb Ekuban, leaving hapless marker Joe Williams chasing shadows. The opener was a case in point, Saiz drifting off Williams to collect an Alioski pass and driving into space before lancing past Adam Davies from 20 yards.
The Barnsley keeper made a dreadful hash of the shot, but he wasn’t helped by Angus MacDonald’s tardy attempt to close down.
“Nine times out of ten, Joe is in the right place,” lamented Heckingbottom. “But Saiz is a clever player who knows when to stand somewhere else. And the balls into him were first class.”
Alioski, too, gave Barnsley endless headaches and capped a terrific first half by whipping a low, curled, left-foot effort in off the far post.
It was a fine finish, albeit helped by youngster Harvey Barnes pulling out of a challenge in the build up. Not that he had much choice.
The Tykes winger had picked up a booking after reacting angrily to a dive from Luke Ayling and was promptly aggravated to such an extent that referee Andy Madeley had already issued a final warning.
Unsurprisingly, Barnes did not emerge for a second half that saw a lot more huff and puff, but little in the way of genuine threat from the home side.
Heckingbottom was angry that Madeley failed to immediately book Ayling. “The kid’s tried to win a penalty and it’s an appalling dive,” he said. “If the ref blows, Harvey doesn’t react. Instead he was on the back foot. But yeah, he’ll have to learn from it.”
For Christiansen, who handed Ekuban only his second start, there were no such frustrations.
“We did the things we talked about,” he said.
“Show our intensity on the pitch, then the quality will come out.
“Samu and Alioski are important players. We need some who are a bit different, who show this kind of talent.
“But we also need people who work hard to defend the lines. Everybody showed their quality here.
“For me, it’s just another three points. For the players, it’s very important to build up the confidence. I think it is coming back.”