Dec 08,2024
Joe Rodon and Max Wober scored their first goals for Leeds as a comfortable 2-0 home win over Derby sent them top of the Championship.
Wales defender Rodon headed in Joe Rothwell's corner in the 39th minute before Austria international Wober, who replaced injured left-back Junior Firpo in the 21st minute, tapped home in the 44th minute.
Those two strikes were just reward for Leeds’ first-half dominance and provided the platform for a victory which saw them bounce back from last Saturday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Blackburn.
For Paul Warne’s Rams, this latest setback marked a third straight defeat and left them with just one win in their last 10 Championship games.
Leeds dominated possession during the opening quarter but initially struggled to make it pay against a hard-working Derby outfit.
Michael Smith grabbed a second-half equaliser as Sheffield Wednesday drew 1-1 with Preston at Hillsborough.
Either side could have snatched victory but it ended in stalemate as North End's search for a first away win of the season in the Championship continues.
Owls boss Danny Rohl made four changes to the side that won 2-1 at Derby, with Di’Shon Bernard, Liam Palmer, Josh Windass and Ike Ugbo coming into the starting XI.
Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom brought in Freddie Woodman, Brad Potts and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen.
The visitors dominated proceedings early on. Stefan Thordarson, Kaine Kesler-Hayden and Sam Greenwood all saw efforts stopped by goalkeeper James Beadle.
But Preston made their pressure count in the 14th minute when striker Emil Riis tapped in Frokjaer-Jensen’s low ball across the box.
Smith's leveller esnured a share of the spoilts for the home side.
Teenager Tom Watson scored his first Sunderland goals as the Black Cats came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.
Lewis Koumas had put Stoke ahead after six minutes but Watson immediately cancelled out the away side's opener.
The winger then brought an end to Sunderland’s six-match winless run when he fired home the winner four minutes from time.
It was a deserved success for Sunderland, who were much the better team throughout and had 24 shots on goal.
The victory gets the Black Cats back on track after their defeat to Sheffield United last time out, but Narcis Pelach’s Stoke side are now winless in their last five games.
