MILLERS STAY AHEAD OF PACK
Valuable point gained at League One title rivals enough to remain at top Leeds joy in Phillips’ England link
KIKO CASILLA and Kalvin Phillips are both waiting at the moment, but first, Leeds United must wait on them for tonight’s Championship game at Middlesbrough.
Having been watched by England manager Gareth Southgate against Sheffield Wednesday last month, holding midfielder Phillips will have his fingers crossed when the squad for March’s friendlies against Italy and Denmark is announced.
It will be Southgate’s last chance to hand out caps before naming his squad for the European Championships and with England’s midfield the least convincing area of the team, there has been media speculation Phillips will get the call. If he does become the first Leeds player to represent England since Alan Smith in March 2004, coach Marcelo Bielsa says the club will be very “proud”.
For goalkeeper Casilla, the wait is more ominous. He is still to hear if he will receive a Football Association ban after being charged with making a racist comment during September’s match at Charlton Athletic. If found guilty, the ban is likely to be a long one, but at least the FA are not expected to spring a verdict in the build-up to such an important game.
The Whites have come out of a slump in results if not form thanks to back-to-back clean sheets so will not want to be without either key defensive figure at Middlesbrough but it could be the case, depending how able they are to take the pain of impact injuries suffered in Saturday’s victory over Reading.
“He has a problem but maybe he will play,” said Bielsa of Casilla. “It depends on how bad the pain is but if he can play through it, I think he will play.
“The fingers aren’t broken. It’s just inflammation.
“With Phillips, it’s a kick (just below the knee). It depends again on the pain, the same situation as with Kiko. With both players, I am optimistic.”
A total of 31 Leeds players have represented England, but none since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2004. It says much for how impressive Phillips has been that Southgate has even watched a player who is yet to play top-flight football.
“It’s something the club, himself and his team-mates have to be proud of if it happens,” commented Bielsa. “It’s not easy to get into the England squad, so for that reason everyone has to be proud if it happens.”
Having managed Argentina and Chile, Bielsa was careful not to endorse Phillips despite rating the Leeds-born 24-year-old highly.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa on England’s interest in Kalvin Phillips.
“I didn’t like other managers talking in the press about which player should be picked so I don’t want to do the same thing,” he explained.
Consecutive 1-0 wins have lifted the mood at Elland Road and with the chasing pack stumbling, Leeds appear to be through the worst of their difficult mid-season period.
In fairness to the Whites, their performances have been consistently good without always having the ruthlessness required at either end. Bielsa is at a loss to explain what, if anything, has changed.
“Football is a discipline where maybe you have the same performance but you get a different result,” he said. “That makes football unpredictable and emotional because there is nothing that says clearly what is going to happen.
“From the same (level of ) performance you have different effects, result. This is why it is so attractive.”
Middlesbrough’s injury concerns are more concrete and more worrying, with defenders Anfernee Dijksteel, Dael Fry and Daniel Ayala, plus on-loan forward Patrick Roberts, ruled out tonight.
Ayala and Fry are reckoned to be “two to three weeks” away, while Dijksteel is due to play for the under-23s against Newcastle United on Friday.
There is no clear return date for Roberts.
Despite that, and a run of form which has seen his side go 10 games without a victory, coach Jonathan Woodgate was bullish about beating the club where he started his playing career.
“Leeds are an exceptional team but I believe we can beat them,” said the former centre-back. “We beat West Brom, beat Preston, drew with Fulham and drew with Bristol City.”
Despite his confidence, Woodgate was has warned his players about the complacency which has perhaps dragged them back into the relegation battle after a strong end to 2019.
“Maybe we got a bit complacent,” he reflected. “Maybe we thought we were already clear. I didn’t. I never thought we were clear even when it was 10 points.
“We have to start rolling up our sleeves and getting results quickly.
“We are fighting for our lives.” Last six: Middlesbrough DDLDLL; Leeds United WLLDWW.
Referee: G Ward (Surrey).
Last time: Middlesbrough 1 Leeds United 1, February 9, 2019, Championship.
It’s something the club, he and his team-mates have to be proud of.
AMID the traditional bout of pancake tossing to mark Shrove Tuesday, Rotherham United and Coventry City were rather more preoccupied with the potential flipping of positions at the top of League One.
This was a summit meeting which was rich with tantalising potential for both these undoubted form horses, who boasted formidable and identical records of nine wins in their previous 11 league fixtures heading into this fascinating match-up.
In the event – perhaps not to the surprise of too many – neither could be separated – and the gap still between this pair remains slender on goal difference only. That Rotherham still lead the way will be something that Paul Warne should derive satisfaction from, although there was one potential blow that may have more fateful consequences.
It arrived 17 minutes from time when Dan Barlaser, one of the leading midfield operators in the third-tier whose grace and class has been heartily showcased for the Millers this winter, fell awkwardly and was stretchered off following treatment from medics amid worrying scenes.
The scenes compounded a difficult second period for the Millers, who were on the back foot for fair spells after being the better side before the break.
A draw was about right after a first-half which saw Freddie Ladapo offered the platform to shed his super-sub moniker and he did not disappoint.
After three goals in his last four appearances all from the bench – the Millers record buy was handed the start he craved and gilded it with a 23th-minute opener from close-range following a grave error from ex-Doncaster Rovers custodian Marko Marosi – his 16th goal of the campaign.
But the second half unquestionably belonged to Coventry, who looked a side in receipt on an unbeaten 11-match sequence and they never looked back after a leveller soon after the resumption from former Millers target Matty Godden.
It was a predatory goal which Sky Blues chief and ex-Millers manager and forward Mark Robins would have been proud of.
The striker and midfielder Liam Walsh, a dominant force for the hosts, went close to winning it for Coventry, but the Millers held out against a home side itching for revenge after their 4-0 beating in South Yorkshire.
The obvious respect between former Millers colleagues – and one-time room-mates – Warne and Robins extended to affairs on the pitch when the action got underway, as befitting a top-of-thetable duel where the stakes were high.
Both sides refused to blink and show their hand in a quiet start, although the clash in footballing styles made an absorbing watch.
The game plan of the Sky Blues – with two marauding wing-backs in Sam McCallum and Fankaty Dabo – revolved around pace and movement on the counter.
The Millers mixed up play more and possessed more threat in the final third and it was they who imposed their will in an assertive spell midway through the half which resulted in an opener.
It was obligingly served up on a Leon Wobschall on last night’s top-of-the-table League One match at St Andrews. silver platter by Marosi, who inexplicably let the ball spill from his grasp under pressure from Matt Crooks following Barlaser’s corner and Ladapo was not the sort to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
Ladapo had given notice of his intent minutes earlier when his shot was blocked by Marosi, with the goalkeeper also beating away a fierce angled strike from Chiedozie Ogbene.
After his faux pas, Marosi redeemed himself with a finger-tip save right out of the top drawer to keep out Ladapo – and was the prelude to a more in-character spell from the hosts before the break.
Callum O’Hare, playing in an advanced midfield role, fired over following a neat corner routine and Max Biamou’s flicked header was held by Daniel Iversen after smart play from danger man Dabo.
It was a warning from Dabo which unfortunately was not heeded by Rotherham.
The hosts raced out of the traps with striking intent on the restart and Dado found a yard of space on the right to deliver an excellent cross which was dispatched in clinical fashion by Godden, whose clever movement was complimented by an inch-perfect downward header.
It took time for Rotherham to regroup as Coventry players and supporters in the Kop Stand suddenly sensed vulnerability, with O’Hare being the chief irritant for the Millers with Dado being a willing accomplice.
Barlaser’s injury further stymied the visitors, but despite late pressure during nine minutes of added-on time due to the midfielder’s woes, it ended all-square.
Coventry City: Marosi; Rose, McFadzean, Hyam; Dabo, Kelly, McCallum (Giles 89); O’Hare; Biamou (Bakayoko 64), Godden.
Unused substitutes: Wilson, Allen, Pask, Westbrooke, Shipley.
Rotherham United: Iversen; Olosunde, Ihiekwe, Wood, Mattock; Crooks (Lindsay 88), Barlaser (MacDonald 73), Wiles (Adelakun 63); Ogbene, Smith, Ladapo. Unused substitutes:
Price, Thompson, Vassell, Koroma.
Referee: C Pollard (Suffolk)
The clash in footballing styles made an absorbing watch.