Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has discussed decisions from the match officials in their clash with Middlesbrough, which appeared to go in his side’s favour.
It took plenty of nerve, but Leeds United held on to earn three huge points in their clash against Middlesbrough on Monday night.
The Whites scored four at the Riverside Stadium, courtesy of a Crysencio Summerville double on top of goals from Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Gnonto.
Despite the goal glut from the visitors, there was a certain frailty to the defensive ranks at times, conceding three to Boro.
It made for a tense end to the match, but ultimately the clash went in the favour of Leeds boss Daniel Farke.
While there were plenty of positives to draw from the game in the attacking sense, there was perhaps some fortune too.
Gnonto appeared to be offside just before he found the back of the net, though the officials didn’t raise the flag.
It seemingly resulted in a clear error that should have seen the goal ruled out, but instead gave Leeds an advantage in the game.
Farke on Middlesbrough vs Leeds refereeing decisions
Daniel Farke has said he won’t apologise for decisions from the officials going in his side’s favour, claiming that Leeds have had plenty go against them in recent weeks and months.
Speaking about the incident for the Gnonto goal, the manager told the press, via the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Was it offside? Okay. Five inches or how much?
“I think 10 years ago we would probably have said it’s onside. Nowadays you drop the line and then you have perhaps two inches.
“I’m not sure if it’s in the sense of the game. So if it was actually offside we have to say okay, 52 [decisions] against us and we’re edging a bit closer.
“I’m not sure if Patrick [Bamford] was really offside in the second half. His goal was disallowed, then we’re not edging closer.
“I’m not sure if we’re owed something, because of all the mistakes against us that we can’t be on the equal level, so many decisions, goals, offside, whatever.
“If we were lucky in this situation then yes, I take this but I don’t feel we have to apologise. I would like to see Patrick’s back because my feeling on the pitch was not offside.”
Championship fixture run-in
Leeds perhaps needed that slice of luck to continue their Championship promotion run-in, with hopes of an instant return to the Premier League.
Next up is a trip to QPR on Friday night in their penultimate match of the season.
A victory at Loftus Road would pile the pressure on an Ipswich Town team that would need to string together wins at Hull and Coventry to stay in the mix.
That’s all before The Whites host Southampton on the final day, while the Tractor Boys welcome Huddersfield Town.
While it appears as though Leeds and Ipswich will be fighting it out for second, Leicester and Southampton could drag themselves back into the mix.
It remains to be seen how it plays out, but there are certain to be more twists and turns ahead.