Sky Bet Championship
Leeds United 3 (Byram 9’, Summerville pen 88’, James 90’)
Hull City 1 (Carvalho 34’)
Leeds: Meslier (GK), Firpo, Ampadu (C), Kamara (Piroe 84’), Bamford (Joseph 72’), Summerville (Anthony 90’), Rodon, James, Gray, Rutter, Byram (Shackleton 90’). Subs not used: Darlow (GK), Cresswell, Cooper, Gelhardt, Crew.
Hull: Allsop (GK), Coyle (C) (Christie 81’), Giles (Jacob 58’), Jones, Tufan (Zaroury 73’), Morton, Philogene, Seri, Slater, Carvalho, Omur. Subs not used: Pandur (GK), McLoughlin, Ohio, Traore, Sharp, Christie, Connolly.
Referee: Josh Smith
Booked: Firpo, Summerville (Leeds) Tufan, Seri (Hull)
Venue: Elland Road
Attendance: 36,747
Late drama at Elland Road saw Leeds United move back into the automatic promotion positions with a 3-1 victory over Hull City, as Crysencio Summerville’s 88th minute penalty gave the Whites the lead before Dan James sealed the three points deep into stoppage time.
Ahead of kick off, both sets of supporters came together in a poignant moment, joining in a minute’s applause, as Leeds United remembers Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, 24 years on from their tragic passing.
The Whites started brightly, with Archie Gray and James linking up nicely down the right flank. The midfielder played an incisive one-two with the Wales international and found space in the box, before lashing over from a narrow angle.
There looked to be little on when Georginio Rutter collected the ball on half-way under pressure from Jaden Philogene and Jean Michael Seri, but stunning skill saw the forward dance away from several orange shirts before playing a superb ball out to Summerville.
In space on the left flank, the winger darted into the area and forced a fine save initially from Ryan Allsop in the Tigers goal, with Sam Byram on hand to head home the rebound and get the Whites off to the perfect start.
Byram then had to be alert down the other end as Philogene latched onto a hopeful long ball, but great positioning from the Leeds full-back allowed him to make a vital interception as United cleared their lines.
The Whites almost grabbed a second after Summerville chipped a perfectly weighted ball into the path of James, who slid a dangerous delivery across the face of goal which Patrick Bamford was unable to guide on target, under pressure from Alfie Jones.
Hull levelled proceedings just after the half-hour mark when Fabio Carvalho met Tyler Morton’s cross at the near post, flicking an effort beyond Illan Meslier and into the back of the net.
Looking for an immediate response before the break, brilliant work once more from Summerville saw the Dutch winger cut in-field and fizz a pass into James which eventually bundled through to Junior Firpo, whose deflected strike looped over the bar.
The Whites would have gone into half-time back in front if not for a wonderful save from Allsop to deny Georginio after a scramble inside the area, before Summerville saw a low effort blocked as Hull desperately cleared their lines.
HALF TIME: Leeds United 1-1 Hull City
The hosts started brightly after the break, with James first racing into space down the right and cutting inside into the area, drilling a low shot that was blocked well by an orange shirt.
The Welshman then slid a smart pass through for the overlapping Byram who fired a dangerous delivery across the face of goal, somehow evading everybody as it ran out on the far side.
The Tigers, themselves looking to take the lead, then had opportunities on the break, with Philogene first curling wide from outside the box, before Ozan Tufan headed Ryan Giles’ cross over.
Hull went within inches of grabbing a second as play continued despite Joe Rodon being down, with Morton working it wide to Abdulkadir Omur whose effort sailed just past the post.
As they game began to grow more open, Philogene blazed over from distance, before a first change from the home dugout saw Mateo Joseph replace Bamford with just under 20 minutes to play.
The Spanish Under-21 international would go within inches of grabbing a second goal in as many matches within minutes, flicking Firpo’s low cross onto the post, with the left-back then glancing Byram’s floated delivery wide as the Whites recycled possession.
As the game entered the dying minutes, the Whites were presented with a glorious chance as referee Josh Smith pointed to the spot when Summerville was sent tumbling in the area under a clumsy challenge from Slater.
As everyone inside the stadium held their beath, the Dutchman was the coolest man in West Yorkshire as he calmly slotted past Allsop in front of the Revie Stand to cue pandemonium inside Elland Road.
The drama wasn’t finished there however, as Hull piled bodies forward in search of a last-gasp equaliser as they won a corner deep into stoppage time.
Leeds’ defence proved steadfast as they cleared their lines, with James racing onto Joel Piroe’s pass and sweeping home into an empty net from the half-way line!
FULL TIME: Leeds United 3-1 Hull City
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
