Rotherham United vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
New York StadiumAttendance10,513.
Saturday 26 November 2016 20:45, UK
Chris Wood and Souleymane Doukara scored in the first-half as Leeds beat 10-man Rotherham at the New York Stadium on Saturday evening.
Former West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie was shown a straight red card for a deliberate elbow into the face of Liam Cooper, leaving the Millers down to 10-men.
Greg Halford went off with an ankle injury after just two minutes and goalkeeper Lee Camp was also forced off 10 minutes before the break after he failed to recover following an earlier collision as Leeds moved up to fifth - their highest league position since December 2013 - while Rotherham remain rock bottom of the Championship.
Richard Wood powered a consolation header into the top corner despite the best attempts of Robert Green to keep it out, prompting a nervy finish to the game for Leeds.
Rotherham came into this clash unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Leeds, winning the last two, but had not won in the league for three months - a run stretching back to August 20 when they beat Brentford 1-0.
With the game barely two minutes old, former Portsmouth and Nottingham Forest defender Halford went to ground clutching his ankle following a strong challenge and was soon replaced by Will Vaulkes.
The tackles flew in from both sides who were eager to assert their dominance, and it was the visitors who went ahead thanks to their top scorer Wood.
Charlie Taylor was afforded too much space down the left by Stephen Kelly and the winger played the perfect pass into the path of Wood, leaving the New Zealand international to easily convert his ninth goal of the season.
A reply was imminent but it did not count as Odemwingie broke into the box and his low effort flew below Green, but the linesman signalled for offside.
There was more worry for Rotherham, as Camp bravely rushed from his area and was clattered, leaving him lying on the floor as he received medical attention.
A moment of madness left the Millers facing an uphill battle, when Odemwingie jumped for a high ball with Cooper, before thrusting his elbow into his face. Despite his bewilderment and protests, the forward was shown a straight red card.
After Camp was eventually replaced by Lewis Price, the substitute was soon picking the ball out of the net, when Doukara fired a low effort into the corner to double the lead.
Hadi Sakho showed Leeds' early second-half intent, when he fired an excellent effort just over the crossbar and into the crowd as they went on the hunt for a third.
Kemar Roofe was causing all sorts of problems with his trickery and when he was pulled down in the box by Kelly, the referee waved away his protests for a penalty.
With the clock ticking down, Leeds became complacent and were made to pay after failing to clear a corner, Wood rose highest and headed in, despite a strong hand from former England international Green.
A goalmouth scrabble ensued, as Green made another important save on the line, before Dominic Ball prodded the ball over as Leeds held on for the three points.
Rotherham manager Kenny Jackett:
"Big chance with the scramble at the end and Dominic Ball has put the ball over the bar when the momentum was with us at that time as well and getting the goal back really helped us and lifted our fans.
"There was a young group of players there that ran, that chased and no little quality either that helped us get back into the game and be close.
"I've just seen it again and it is tough to argue you with. He seems to have put his arm up to protect himself and caught the centre-back, I don't think we can have any complaints," he said.
Leeds manager Gary Monk:
"I think we deserved the three points overall, but we can't be happy with how the game ended, complacency crept in. I spoke about it at half-time with the players and for the first 20 minutes I thought we was excellent.
"That needless pressure at the end was caused by ourselves and we need to address that and make sure it does not happen again."
