When Pascal Struijk was named on Leeds United’s bench for their match against Barnsley he could have been forgiven for thinking that he was only going to be given a watching brief.
Struijk had made just two appearances all season for Leeds prior to yesterday, with Marcelo Bielsa clearly favouring other options.
However, with Leeds struggling to get a grip on arguably their most important match of the campaign, Bielsa turned to the youngster as he looked to help his side regain some control of the contest.
Struijk made a rocky start, as he was dispossessed by a high pressing Barnsley side deep inside Leeds’ half.
But after that mishap, Struijk performed admirably in a hugely pressurised environment.
The Belgian born defender helped Leeds pick up a 1-0 victory, which pushes them so close to promotion.
And Leeds fans have hailed Struijk for keeping his nerve on the big stage.
Whether Struijk will now play for Leeds again this season remains to be seen, but he can feel that he has played a real part in their promotion, if it happens, now.
Leeds need to claim just one point from their next two games to be assured of their Premier League status once again.
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