When Leeds United hosted Plymouth Argyle at Elland Road on Saturday for a Championship match, Neil Redfearn was “really pleased” to see one player step up.
Second-tier matches began this weekend around the country, with a spot in automatic promotion up for grabs.After faltering in the play-off final the previous season, Leeds is once again in the middle of the race for promotion. However, Daniel Farke’s starting lineup hasn’t been reliable.
The Whites, who had won their last seven games, welcomed Plymouth to Elland Road. However, Farke had only seen Leeds win four of those games, with two draws in between. Leeds, however, set themselves up to reverse that trend with an outstanding first forty-five minutes at home against the Pilgrims.
Neil Redfearn was thrilled to see Joel Piroe score as Leeds United hosted Plymouth Argyle
Leeds took the lead against Plymouth thanks to goals from Daniel James and Joel Piroe in the 30th and 33rd minutes, respectively. In the 38th minute, Brenden Aaronson added a goal to further inflict further suffering on Wayne Rooney’s relegation-threatened Pilgrims.
As the former Leeds United manager watched the action against Plymouth, Redfearn was captivated by the sight of Piroe scoring the 25-year-old’s sixth goal of the Championship campaign. After making five consecutive starts this season, Piroe is having his greatest run in Farke’s squad to date.
As a result of Patrick Bamford’s illness versus Plymouth, Farke was forced to start Piroe. However, Redfearn enjoyed the former striker for the Netherlands Under-20 team’s efforts in and around the Pilgrims’ box. The standard of
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“Excellent second phase movements around the box, followed by a calm drop to Piroe,” Redfearn went on. Another excellent finale.
Joel Piroe had the fewest touches by a Leeds player before scoring vs Plymouth
At home on Saturday, Piroe gave Leeds a 2-0 lead over Plymouth with his second attempt of the Championship game. Piroe had hit the goal in the third minute of the game when he first tried to attack Pilgrims goalie Daniel Grimshaw.
Prior to Piroe’s goal, only custodian Illan Meslier had written as many touches of the ball as Piroe among Leeds players who started against Plymouth. In the opening thirty-three minutes, Aaronson had the second-fewest touches of any Whites player with 20.
However, when given the opportunity to score in Bamford’s absence, Piroe made it matter despite his little participation on the ball. Additionally, it gave him one of his first two assists during his three games without a goal since Piroe’s goal at Sunderland.
