Joel Piroe abysmal, Junior Firpo superb – Leeds player ratings in West Brom draw
Daniel Farke’s side could only leave Elland Road with a single point as Leeds United drew 1-1 with West Brom on Saturday.
Junior Firpo, whose contract at Leeds is set to expire in the summer, opened the scoring after latching onto Dan James’ dangerous cross, netting in back-to-back games.
It could have been plain sailing for Farke and his players, though they seemed to take their foot off the gas and allow Tony Mowbray’s side back into proceedings on 1 March.
After knocking on the door of Illan Meslier‘s goal several times, Darnell Furlong eventually hit back in the 39th minute, with the Whites unable to retake the lead for the remainder of the game.
Junior Firpo stars yet again for Leeds
Illan Meslier – 4
Very little Meslier could do about West Brom’s equaliser, though his rocky performance certainly gave the opposition enough reason to continue pushing for a winner.
Jayden Bogle – 6
Another bright display from the former Sheffield United man, though he was outshined by his teammate on the opposite side for much of the game.
Joe Rodon – 7
Remained rock-solid at the back, even making a crucial tackle in added time to deny Tom Fellows a last-gasp winner for the Baggies. A true leader this season.
Pascal Struijk – 5
Didn’t quite bring the same level of performance as that of the absent Ethan Ampadu but remained strong in defence until the final whistle.
| Championship standings | Points |
| 1. Leeds | 76 |
| 2. Sheffield United | 70 |
| 3. Burnley | 68 |
Junior Firpo – 9 – Man of the Match
Popped up in the box with a superb header, scoring in back-to-back games after netting against Sheffield United last time out.
Ao Tanaka – 5
An uncharacteristically quiet game for the Japanese international, losing too many battles in midfield and allowing West Brom to counter-attack at Elland Road.
Joe Rothwell – 7
Helped create multiple chances in the final third, pushing his teammates forward from the base of midfield as he continued to spread passes all over the pitch. Farke was fuming with Rothwell at one point, however.
Daniel Farke’s attack fails to get going at Elland Road
Dan James – 8
Supplied the assist for Firpo’s opening goal, notching his 19th goal contribution of the Championship campaign and remained a threat throughout the game.
Brenden Aaronson (Off for Mateo Joseph 72′) – 3
Has come under heavy fire at different points this season, going invisible on far too many occasions, and this was another of those moments as the American struggled to make an impact.
Manor Solomon (Off for Wilfried Gnonto 79′) – 4
Had chances to fire past Joe Wildsmith but was kept quiet for the majority of the game by Furlong, or even Callum Styles when the wingers switched sides.
Joel Piroe – 2
Offered very little in the final third. Lost multiple battles against the Baggies’ tough defenders and finished the game without having a single shot. Disappointing.
Substitutes
Mateo Joseph (On for Aaronson 72′) – 6
Brought a spark to the when coming on as a substitute but could only hit the crossbar before the full-time whistle blew at Elland Road.
Wilfried Gnonto (On for Solomon 79′) – N/A