Leeds United show fighting spirit to earn a point against Brentford
Sunday, 30th Aug 2026 16:59 by Tim Whelan
For much of this game Leeds were overrun by Brentford, but we did well to fight back in the closing stages and claim a point.
After beating Forest twice in the first two games of the season, Leeds came into this game in a mood of some optimism for the season ahead. But Brentford had also won their league and cup games comfortably during the past week, so this looked like being a difficult game. There was one change from our last league starting eleven, with Okafor coming in for Wilson.
And so it proved, with the away side having bar far the biggest share of possession during the opening stages. For the most part our defence held firm and they were reduced to a few shots from the edge of the area which didn’t cause Trafford too much difficulty. But going forward Okafor was our main outlet, and more than once his final ball into the area was disappointing.
So we struggled to create anything, and when were able to send a free kick into the area from a decent position, it led to Brentford’s best chance of the game so far as they broke away. With Stach being the free kick taker he was further back than the defenders who had gone forward, so he had to race back am make a goal-saving intervention before the ball could get through to an unmarked Jadon Anthony.
Soon after Rodon had to limp off with a hamstring injury, and our first change was his like-for-like replacement by Elvedi. As the clock ticked past 40 minutes I thought at least we would manage to get to half time with the scores level, which would give Daniel Farke the chance to make some changes to get us back into the game.
But then Brentford finally managed to make their superiority count, as Schade flicked at a cross with the outside of his right foot and found just the right angle to loop the ball over the defence and into the corner of the net, where Trafford couldn’t get to it. Thankfully we got to half time with no further damage, and Farke decided to make one of his famous formation changes, and go to only two central defenders.
Bijol came off along with Aaronson, while James and Tanaka came on, in an attempt to establish a bit more control in the centre of midfield. And for a while it seemed to bring Leeds into the game a bit more, with our best chance so far coming from Justin’s shot from distance that Kelleher did well to turn round the post.
But the away side were still looking dangerous on the break, and they had a shout for a penalty when Justin made contact with Shcade’s foot after the ball had gone. Thankfully the referee decided he hadn’t done so with enough force to cause the Brentford man to go down as he did, and VAR didn’t see enough in the challenge to ask him to review the decision.
As we got to 69 minutes Farke decided it was time to throw caution to the wind and bolster the attack, with Nmecha coming on for Bogle to play alongside DCL, and James replacing Okafor. And almost immediately James had a great opportunity to bring the scores level, with Nmecha’s ball putting him clean through and the Welshman onside as he ran from his own half.
Put Lewis-Potter did well to get back and force James a bit wide, and he was some way wide with an attempted lob, when a cross to Nmecha might have been a better option. Then we all got excited when we were awarded a free kick in prime Stach territory, only to be disappointed when the German sent the ball straight into the wall.
Then DCL had a shot saved by the on-rushing Kelleher, and although he was flagged offside, it would have been a close call on VAR if he had got the ball into the net. But finally we did get back on terms when Nmecha drilled the ball across the face of goal, and Calvert-Lewin was in the right place to turn it home. Their defence all appealed for offside, but I think one of their number on the far side had been playing him on.
With the Elland Road crowd roaring us on it now looked like we had all the momentum and could go on and with the game, even though Brentford had been the better side for the first three quarters of it. And we could still have lost it, when Thiago forced Trafford into a fine save and then put the rebound into the side netting.
Three minutes of injury time were announced, and we were presented with a chance out of nothing in the third of them, as Collins needlessly fouled James as they chased a ball that looked certain to get to Kelleher first. Could Stach repeat his last gasp winner at Forst with a free kick from a very similar angle?
Er, no. This time his shot went harmlessly past the far post, and that was that. In the end both sides could take some satisfaction as a well as a point from this lively game. Leeds for coming back into a game when it looked like we had lost, and Brentford for hanging on at the end when they also might have lost.
We won’t have many tougher games than this at Elland Road this season, and the fighting spirit we showed augurs well for the rest of the campaign.
_Reuters_