Leeds United 1-0 Barnsley: Whites move a point from promotion to Premier League with tense victory
- Published
Michael Sollbauer's unfortunate own goal was the 70th Leeds have scored in the Championship this season
Leeds United took another big step towards ending their 16-year wait for promotion to the Premier League by battling past bottom-of-the-table Barnsley in a tense Yorkshire derby.
The Whites now need just one point in their final two matches, but could be promoted as soon as Friday if West Bromwich Albion fail to beat Huddersfield.
Seconds after Mads Andersen missed a great chance to open the scoring for the visitors, Michael Sollbauer turned Patrick Bamford's pull-back into his own net to give Marcelo Bielsa's side the lead.
The Tykes had the better of things after the break, however Conor Chaplin and Callum Styles both shot wide and Leeds held out for a vital win.
Their ascent to the Premier League will be confirmed before they play Derby on Sunday if either the Baggies or Brentford, who visit Stoke on Saturday, do not win.
Perhaps understandably given the pressure on the match it was not a vintage performance from the hosts, who struggled to match the visitors' intensity and, but for some wasteful finishing, could easily have lost.
Barnsley put in a performance that belied their place at the foot of the table, but that will be of little comfort after a fourth game without a win left them four points from safety.
They could now be relegated to League One even if they win their final two games.
On a day which started with a minute's silence for legendary Leeds and England defender Jack Charlton, who died at the age of 85 last week, it was perhaps fitting that the hosts ground out a vital 1-0 win.
Familiar failings for fighting Tykes
It was the visitors who created the first major chance when Cauley Woodrow slid Jacob Brown in behind the home defence, but Brown could only send his effort across goal from a tight angle.
As had been expected Leeds enjoyed the majority of possession, but it was the Tykes who should have broken the deadlock when Andersen could only head wide from a Callum Styles corner.
They were quickly punished for their profligacy as Leeds broke downfield from the subsequent goalkick and Mateusz Klich played Bamford in behind and his second attempted cross was stabbed into his own net by Sollbauer.
The Tykes made an excellent start to the second period and Chaplin fired wide before Styles really should have made it 1-1 when he drilled a low shot wide from 18 yards after pinching the ball from Leeds defender Luke Ayling.
Barnsley clearly had Leeds worried and Bielsa removed winger Jack Harrison to put Patrick Stujik in a holding midfield position but chances continued to go the way of the visitors, as Sollbauer headed straight at Whites keeper Illan Meslier.
A rare Leeds foray forward ended with Bamford forcing a great low stop from Jack Walton in the Reds goal and the keeper also denied Stuart Dallas a late second.
Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber told BBC Radio Sheffield: "We played so well against a massive opponent. It's so frustrating.
"We have played at our level these past few games, but our issue is taking top chances and being clinical.
"The whole team was so brave, but the conviction in the last pass was not at the right level."
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa: "Until the situation is mathematically resolved we can not talk about promotion.
"We (coaches) will not watch the West Brom or Brentford games. We focus on ourselves."