MONK’S HABIT
Leeds sick of former boss as he beats them yet again
THE shout went up, gathered volume, and by the final whistle a crescendo of sound echoed round St Andrew’s.
Garry Monk was the name on everyone’s lips. The ex-Leeds boss with the how-to-beat Marcelo Bielsa blueprint seared into his brain. Twice in one season.
In the end Che Adams’s 22nd goal delivered the Championship double to a club supposedly in the doldrums after a nine-point deduction and a run of five straight defeats.
The three- way fight for the two automatic promotion places is turning into quite the narrative. Within minutes of Birmingham taking the lead, Sheffield United were doing something similar at Preston and Leeds were back in play-off purgatory, which is where they stay.
It is a twisting, turning saga which is going the distance. Monk could still have a further say too, with the Blades due to visit this week.
Afterwards, Leeds coach Bielsa was critical of his players’ positioning, their failure to create more, and their wastefulness when they did make openings.
‘ The performance was not very positive,’ he said, looking even more downcast than usual. ‘The second part of the second half, the game was more complicated for us. They had three clear chances which can increase the lead. In the last 30 minutes in defence they feel comfortable.’
Monk would probably not call a crucial three-point haul ‘comfortable’ but he showed once again he has the measure of his former club.
Pablo Hernandez has been the spark of this Leeds team but the 33-year-old was kept under wraps by the home side. It was Monk, who recruited him, now ruthlessly taking advantage of his inside knowledge.
Up and at ’ em was the message from Monk but it still needed a missed opportunity from Leeds striker Patrick Bamford at one end to spring the release at the other.
Bamford’s flick from a Luke Ayling cross hit the post and bounced safely into the arms of Lee Camp. From the restart, Jacques Maghoma delivered from the left, Lukas Jutkiewicz stepped over the ball with a perfect dummy and there was Adams.
A six-game goal drought over and the forward could have had more. He drew three saves from Kiko Casilla, two of them outstanding.
Bamford usually l i kes playing against Birmingham. The striker has scored against them twice with Middlesbrough and once with Derby.
Having missed t hat f i rst- half chance, he then let slip another one by clearing the bar from Stuart Dallas’s cross. Just to confirm this was not going to be his day, Camp denied his header from a cross by Tyler Roberts. Bamford was off soon afterwards as Leeds ramped it up again with the arrival of Kemar Roofe and Jack Clarke.
Yet, even with Leeds throwing everything at them, Birmingham did not buckle. They are in a relegation fight, remember, thanks to that deduction.
Monk would not have needed to remind the players that they were on the back of their worst start to a season when they got their first league win of the campaign at Elland Road.
‘It just capped off what was a really good performance from us, similar to the first game there,’ said Monk. ‘We were good defensively, organised, aggressive, but this was a much stronger performance offensively.
‘Six points is the testament. Most important for us was three points. We need that in the remaining games. Other teams won today and that’s a reminder we need to fight hard.’
Sheffield United — you have been warned.