Blue sky falls in on Leeds

RIVAL fans just love to proclaim that ‘Leeds are falling apart again’ and Coventry’s were certainly no exception. That judgement is premature, but this defeat — their first in league action in 2024 — felt like a major missed opportunity for Daniel Farke’s promotion chasers. With Ipswich beaten by Norwich at lunchtime, Leeds could have returned to the Championship summit. Instead, they put in an off-colour performance, totally out of character by recent standards. After goals by Ellis Simms and Haji Wright inflicted the damage and boosted Coventry’s play-off ambitions, the Leeds mood was not helped by news of Leicester’s late winner down the M69. But this win added to the feelgood factor for Coventry in front of a record league crowd here of 30,232, with the club looking forward to an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United on April 21. Boss Mark Robins said: ‘We were brilliant against a top, top team with pace, power and know-how, who attack you at speed. ‘The two goals were absolutely brilliant and you need a cushion against them. ‘We had to win because Norwich played really well earlier on.’ Coventry led early on when Simms nodded home his 18th goal of the season after Liam Kitching flicked on. Home fans erupted again four minutes into the second-half when Josh Eccles swung in the perfect cross and Wright smartly steered the ball past keeper Illan Meslier. Leeds’ Dutch substitute Joel Piroe set up a frantic finale when he pulled one back, firing home in a packed box. ‘We gave away two relatively cheap goals and then it was tricky against a side who are really good at home,’ said Leeds manager Farke. ‘When you lose the first game of the year in April, its hard to be self-critical with the lads after such an outstanding run. But I felt we had more to give.’