Leeds United had to fight hard to earn their 3-1 victory over Hull City Friday night at Elland Road.
Leeds knew the pressure was on them going into a difficult match against the Tigers after seeing both Leicester City and Ipswich Town win comebacks earlier in the day.
Leeds took an early lead thanks to Sam Byram, but the away side did not back down, dominating the majority of possession till Fabio Carvalho equalised.
Leeds gradually established themselves as the superior team in the final half-hour, but it wasn’t until the final two minutes that they seized the lead when Crysencio Summerville stepped up and converted the penalty he won.
Dan James then provided the icing to the cake in the seventh minute of extra time, scoring from 45 yards out after City’s goalkeeper went forward for a corner.
Farke claims Leeds are actually losing a £5 million star with injury right now.
Leeds were far from their best at Elland Road last night, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise given the players who were out and the tight schedules of so many others.
Leeds had a whole new midfield combination in Glen Kamara and Archie Gray, which was obvious from the start, as neither was a plain and out number four.
Gray appeared to be charged with sitting in front of the back four, which took away much of his offensive strengths.
In his post-match press conference, Daniel Farke confessed that Ilia Gruev is someone Leeds are desperately lacking right now for a variety of reasons.
He stated: “A lot. We have a thin midfield. Ampadu is vital in central defense. Ilia is in charge of our rhythm and is an excellent ball player. Lack of quality in possession. Archie is quite enthusiastic.
“Needs to get used to our game’s placement. At his age, he cannot be ideal when it comes to dictating or speeding up the rhythm. I miss Ilia a lot. “Played without Connor and Willy.”
Leeds desperate for Gruev’s comeback at Coventry on Saturday.
Farke had hoped Gruev would return last night, but the swelling in his ankle had not subsided as much as they would have wanted.
However, the fact that he was expected to play yesterday may be good news for his chances of making Saturday, since Leeds now have five days of appropriate recovery time.
Leeds are keen for the £5 million summer signing to return because they have no one in the midfield capable of picking up lost balls and winning tackles.
Ethan Ampadu continues to be required in defence in Pascal Struijk’s absence, demonstrating how stretched the squad is centrally at the moment.
