Report: Leeds United 0-1 Burnley - Leeds United

Sky Bet Championship

Leeds United 0

Burnley 1 (Koleosho 18’)

Leeds: Meslier (GK), Bogle, Firpo (Byram 78’), Ampadu (Rothwell 68’), Struijk, Rodon (Tanaka 87’), Aaronson (Piroe 68’), Solomon (Ramazani 78’), Mateo Joseph, Gnonto, Gruev. Subs not used: Darlow (GK), Gelhardt, Schmidt, Debayo.

Burnley: Trafford (GK), Worrall, Esteve, Brownhill (C) (Massengo 90’), Anthony, Humphreys, Flemming (Hountondji 90’), Pires, Hannibal (Cullen 73’), Laurent, Koleosho (Sarmiento 64’). Subs not used: Hladky (GK), Egan-Riley, Rodriguez, Egan, Agyei.

Venue: Elland Road

Attendance: 36,405

Referee: James Bell

Booked: Firpo, Gnonto, Ampadu (Leeds) Hannibal, Anthony, Worrall, Humphreys, Massengo (Burnley)

Sent-off: Humphreys (Burnley)

Leeds United returned to action after the international break on Saturday lunchtime, coming up against Burnley at Elland Road in the Sky Bet Championship.

A first half goal from Luca Koleosho was enough to secure the three points for the away side, in a match that did see plenty of chances throughout for the hosts to score themselves.

Prior to kick-off, both teams came together in the centre circle and paid tribute to former Whites captain Sol Bamba who tragically passed away recently at the age of 39, with everyone inside the stadium standing for a minutes applause.

Inside the opening 60 seconds of the match, Mateo Joseph won the ball high up the pitch and ran through one-on-one. Perhaps with too much time, the striker looked up and shot at goal, only to see the ball go narrowly wide of the post.

Burnley had a good chance moments later. Racing into the middle of the box, Hannibal connected well with a left-wing cross only to see his header go wide as well.

In the sixth minute and poignantly with the ball at the feet of Illan Meslier, the players stopped and applauded in memory of young Leeds United supporter Bob, who proudly named the ‘keeper as his favourite player. Bob sadly passed away recently at the age of six.

Next to test the away defence was Ilia Gruev. The midfielder saw his opportunity to strike on goal and did so, with accuracy and power, but James Trafford was equal to the effort.

With chances coming at both ends, Burnley took the lead. A corner routine from the Whites broke down and the Clarets were able to break forward and Koleosho struck well into the bottom corner to put his side ahead.

Farke’s side again had a good chance though, looking to respond. Brenden Aaronson played a clever pass through the Burnley defence to Willy Gnonto, who struck powerfully left-footed, only to see Trafford make another good stop.

Approaching half-time, a big moment inside Elland Road went the way of the visitors. Manor Solomon linked up well with Gnonto and the former appeared to be brought down in the box, but nothing was given, despite the protests.

The final act before the teams returned to their dressing room was a set-play. Pascal Struijk leapt highest and connected well, only to flick his header wide, hearing the whistle blow shortly after.

HALF TIME: Leeds United 0-1 Burnley

Back out of the tunnel and onto the pitch for the second 45 minutes under the sunshine of West Yorkshire, neither side had made a change.

Looking to get back on level terms straight after the break, three quick efforts came. Gnonto had a strike deflected wide, Joseph forced an excellent diving stop from Trafford, before Aaronson then had a strike blocked from the resulting corner.

Just after the hour mark and with the game seeing stoppages to delay the game, a quick break from Gnonto saw the ball fall kindly for Ampadu, where the midfielder had his curling effort tipped over the bar by Trafford once more.

The cards were racking up the away side who had four just after an hour of play, with Bashir Humphreys being the latest for time wasting.

Looking to add fresh impetus from the bench, Farke turned to Joel Piroe and Joe Rothwell, who both came on in place of Ampadu and Aaronson, shortly to be followed by Largie Ramazani and Sam Byram, for Junior Firpo and Solomon.

The latest stoppage in the game came through lengthy treatment given to Joe Rodon and Josh Brownhill. The pair clashed heads in the middle and both required bandages.

With clear chances still low, despite their best efforts, eight minutes added time was shown at the end of the 90.

Still looking to break up the game and see it out by halting the Whites at every opportunity, Humphreys was shown a second yellow card again and sent off this time, for going through the back of Gnonto in stoppage time.

Farke’s side had thrown everyone forward in an attempt to find a leveller, but the final blow of the whilst saw a first league defeat of the season confirmed.

FULL TIME: Leeds United 0-1 Burnley