Leeds United kicked off the Paul Heckingbottom era by losing 2-1 at Bramall Lane.
Paul Heckingbottom’s first game in charge of Leeds may not have seen the Whites end their poor run of form in the Championship, but there were certainly some positive signs to come out of the defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
The Whites started slowly against their Yorkshire rivals – much like they did when the two sides met at Elland Road back in October – and much like the previous meeting, Billy Sharp put the Blades in front inside two minutes.
This time however, his goal was a stunning volley that Felix Wiedwald stood little chance of keeping out. The home side enjoyed most of the momentum during the first-half and threatened to create the chances that would put the game beyond doubt before the break – though Wiedwald had little to do throughout the game.
Leeds would test their opponents before the break with Pontus Jansson’s header producing a stunning save from Jamal Blackman, but it certainly appeared that Leeds’ performance levels would need a significant boost in the second-half if they were going to get something from the game.
Like the Blades in the first-half however, Leeds flew out of the traps after the interval with Pierre-Michel Lasogga quickly equalising for the Whites with an excellent header after a great cross from substitute Pablo Hernandez.
Leeds were much better in the second-half, but it would be the home side who would score the deciding third goal with Eunan O’Kane conceding a penalty and Sharp emphatically putting the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards.
It may have been a defeat for Heckingbottom, but there were still some positives with some players putting in some encouraging displays in the game. And two of the players who arguably would have given their new manager reason for optimism were Stuart Dallas and Lasogga.
Dallas played well as a makeshift right-back and Lasogga built on his display in the defeat to Millwall last month with the kind of performance that the fans have been crying out for for much of the campaign.
With that in mind, here a handful of images from the game, including one of Lasogga and Dallas enjoying the German’s goal with the fans…
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