21st April 2025. EFL Championship
We may have had a little wobble a few weeks ago but since the win at Boro we have got stronger and stronger each successive game. And then, just when we thought the nerves might get the better of us we put in a performance like that. Finally, everything came together and Leeds were simply irresistible against the Potters of Stoke!
Joel Piroe had struggled in front of goal lately – no goals in nine – but he showed his lasting class tonight with a showcase performance of quality finishing. Two goals in 2 minutes from the 6th to the 8th began the rout. OK, the Potters were poor and they effectively handed us those two goals through sloppy ball control, but the way Joel Piroe put them away was sublime. The first came after no less than three attempts by three Stoke defenders to get the ball away but each time a fierce Leeds press blocked their way and finally Willy Gnonto found Solomon on the left and his first time low cross was deftly put away by Piroe inside the left post. Then Jayden Bogle, looking like a man possessed simply took the ball off a defender’s toes and ran past him before passing the ball to Piroe again and this time our super-marksman slid the ball inside the right post! Stoke must have wondered what hit them!
More hit them in the 20th minute as Piroe completed his quick-fire hat-trick. A low Willy Gnonto left foot shot was half saved by the keeper but Piroe was right there to gobble up the crumbs by lifting the ball into the roof of the net at the back post. Leeds were simply on fire and whereas we have often let ourselves down with poor finishing throughout this season, tonight we could not put a foot wrong.
It was 4 – 0 by the 26th minute as Jayden Bogle was again too good for his marker and he sent the ball low into the path of Junior Firpo who stunned the ball into the top corner.
Still Leeds weren’t finished and still Piroe wasn’t finished. Ilia Gruev clipped a ball into the middle, Junior Firpo helped it on with his head and there was Bogle again with an incredible bit of skill to bring the ball down and go past his marker in one swift movement. This was poetry in motion. Bogle riffled the ball at goal but his shot cannoned off the near post. The ricochet hit Piroe, rebounded back to him off a defender and at the second time of asking Piroe poked it over the line with Aaronson and a defender between them making sure it went in. 5 – 0 at the break and Elland Road was in awe. This was a very special performance in what ought to have been a very pressurised moment.
The second half was inevitably less hectic but Leeds added to the tally when a whipped Solomon cross found little Willy Gnonto unmarked at the back post and he calmly headed home.
Stoke, on the back of a good little run that had just about got them safe, were truly hit for six and, having to now face Sheffield United on Friday they might now be in trouble again.
So, having well and truly taken care of our own business, it was off to the pub to see how Sheffield United got on at Burnley. The roars must have been heard all over Leeds when the Clarets took the lead in the 28th minute and most punters in the pub I was in got a soaking of beer and lager! It was a lot less raucous when the Blades cut through to score an equaliser in the 37th minute but then all hell broke loose against just before the break when Burnley were awarded a penalty. A hush went around the beer garden so as not to put Josh Brownhill off (well, they could probably hear the noise in Burnley, so loud was it!) and then another huge roar as his spot kick hit the back of the net.
There were tense moments throughout the second half but no more goals and most patrons at the pubs around the ground set off for Elland Road before the game ended. Goodness knows how many were outside Elland Road but another roar greeted the final whistle at Turf Moor and then the celebrations began. There were flares and fireworks, singing and dancing, bottles and cans everywhere – it was Christmas, New Year and carnival time all in one. The players eventually made their way to the front of the East Stand – albeit safely behind the outer fencing – and they joined with the fans to celebrate a monumental achievement. What a day it’s been!
We all knew from as long ago as last Summer how this season was a make or break one for Leeds. Last season had been fantastic but for the late season stumble and rebuilding again gave no certainty of success. To have then put together another amazing season it was inconceivable we should fail again because surely it would not have been possible to put together a third such season and, with those parachute payments dwindling each season it could easily have been a disaster.
We can forget all that now though, we’ve done it, we are back in the Premier League and surely this time, with the sporting expertise the 49ers must have gleaned over the years, surely they will know they have to invest heavily in the playing squad and bring in a significant number of Premier League quality players. If they do, and if we get the recruitment right, then maybe we can buck the recent trend that has seen too many promoted clubs fall straight back into the Championship. Fingers crossed folks but first, let’s all enjoy this moment, let’s celebrate the achievement, let’s replay all those goals we’ve scored, let’s watch the videos from outside Elland Road tonight again and again, let’s savour the feeling, for it doesn’t come very often!
Sky Bet Championship
Leeds United 6 (Piroe 6’, 8’, 20’, 41’; Firpo 26’, Gnonto 59’)
Stoke City 0
Leeds: Darlow (GK), Bogle (Schmidt 77’), Firpo (Byram 77’), Ampadu (C), Rodon, Piroe (Bamford 66’), Aaronson (Gray 86’), Solomon, Tanaka, Gnonto (Ramazani 66’), Gruev.
Subs not used: Meslier (GK), Joseph, Guilavogui, Wöber.
Stoke: Johansson (GK) (C), Pearson, Burger (Seko 72’), Baker, Al-Hamadi (Lawal 59’), Jun-Ho (Koumas 46’), Wilmot, Tchamadeu, Phillips, Wilson-Esbrand (Gooch 46’), Manhoef (Gibson 46’).
Subs not used: Bonham (GK), Gallagher, Moran, Fawunmi.
Referee: Darren Bond
Booked: Ampadu (Leeds)
Venue: Elland Road
Attendance: 36,644