YEP Jury: Normal service resumed as Leeds United put the fans through the ringer

DAVID WATKINS My match verdicts are starting to sound repetitive! Once again Leeds dominated; possession, attempts, corners, all aspects of the game and yet once again we only narrowly got over the line. For the umpteenth time I was convinced this would be the game when we battered a side that was clearly out of sorts but once again it didn’t happen. A sloppy piece of defensive work brought Bolton back into the game and then we were once again unable to convert possession into enough clear-cut chances and clear-cut chances into goals. At the end of the day the win was all important but there remains an uncomfortable feeling for me that we are struggling to beat very ordinary sides whereas our rivals are thrashing them! Who knows, the Championship is so tight that goal difference may still become an important factor. We now play QPR tomorrow knowing they face us on the back of a run of seven consecutive defeats. If we are to hang in there this season we need to make sure they don’t end that sequence at our expense! Man of the match: Gjanni Alioski. ANDY RHODES If you asked a group of Leeds fans to describe their feelings after this game, I think the vast majority would say they were relieved. It was a game that all of us in the Jury expected Leeds to win, but we didn’t expect it to be as close as it ultimately was. Bolton caused United a fair few problems and offered more resistance than they did again Norwich last week. Leeds’ continuing injury woes may have contributed to the sense of ‘anxiety in the air’ as Phil Parkinson put it. However, the Whites are trying to prove to their doubters that they’re made from sterner stuff, and Patrick Bamford’s refusal to give up penalty kick responsibilities showed that Leeds have a confident striker in their ranks. They also had a rare stroke of luck on their side in the second half when Gjanni Alioski’s cross deflected into the net. With a difficult run of games coming up, the best of sides will need that mix of confidence and luck if they want to achieve promotion. Man of the match: Pablo Hernandez. KEITH INGHAM Leeds claimed a ‘double’ over their Lancashire rivals Bolton Wanderers, the 2-1 win wasn’t the hammering many had forecast and it was won thanks to a deflected Gjanni Alioski shot that Remi Matthews in the Bolton goal couldn’t keep out. Leeds started very brightly with Tyler Roberts linking well with Patrick Bamford and they deservedly went ahead thanks to only the second penalty to be awarded this season. After a ‘discussion’ between Pablo Hernandez, Roberts and Bamford, the £7m striker grabbed the ball and put it confidently past Matthews. With the home fans expecting more goals it was a major surprise when Bolton equalised. A corner wasn’t cleared and the ball was put past Kiko Casilla by Mark Beevers. From then on Leeds struggled to get behind their visitors but when they did Matthews denied Bamford more than once. Leeds needed a little luck and got it when Alioski shot from outside the area and his goal-bound effort hit a defender’s outstretched leg and via the bar bounced over the line to produce the usual celebration that was first seen after Pontus Jansson’s goal against Swansea. What frustrated the home fans, myself included, was the constant passing back in defence inviting the visitors on to them. Mark my words this will cost Leeds in a forthcoming game. One thing is certain they will have to up their game a fair bit to have any hope of getting three points from next Friday’s ‘six pointer’ with West Bromwich Albion. Leeds will head down south tomorrow where they will face QPR at Loftus Road. The Londoners have lost seven straight games but will no doubt raise their game because it’s Leeds next, another team that will be hard to beat despite their recent form. Man of the match: Tyler Roberts. MIKE GILL Although they made hard work of it, the Whites came home with all three points. Familiar statistics reflected their superiority but in the end a single goal margin had to suffice. A rare penalty was awarded after good work by Tyler Roberts and Patrick Bamford dispatched it confidently. The expected rout did not materialise and Bolton levelled the scores just six minutes later when Mark Beevers drove the ball home after a goal line clearance from Jack Harrison. In the second half United seized the initiative with a bizzare goal. As we were lamenting the poor quality of Alioski’s cross, the ball eluded Remi Matthews in the Bolton goal and curled into the top corner. United carried on battering at the Bolton goal but they could not breach the Lancashire club’s defence. The customary nervous finish could not be avoided and bitten off fingernails littered the floors of the stands. Three points are three points so on to QPR tomorrow for more thrills! Man of the match: Kalvin Phillips. MATTHEW EVANS Another narrow victory was achieved in a game we should have won more comfortably, but United stuck at it and were good value for the three points. Predictably, Bolton raised their game and put in a performance that would have challenged Norwich far more than the 4-0 capitulation they had put in the week prior. For our part, we looked vulnerable from aerial balls into the box and were struggling to create any obvious chances at the other end. In other words, it was business as usual. Pablo Hernandez was our inspiration in the second half and Tyler Roberts made sure that we didn’t miss Kemar Roofe as much as we might have done. Tomorrow night is another challenge but, with QPR bang out of form, it’s another we should be winning. Man of the match: Gjanni Alioski. SHAUN SMITH The pretty lady in the sparkly leotard, shackled to the spinning turntable as the knife-thrower delivers his blades within a hair’s breath of drawing blood. I always presumed she would be paid good money but perhaps knife-thrower’s assistants are all Leeds fans and see it all as huge good fun. Over 34,000 again packed into Elland Road to have their nerves put through the mangle. It was disappointing for these committed adrenaline junkies when Patrick Bamford put United 1-0 up and all looked prosaically straight-forward, but no. The ref gave a corner when no corner should have been given, and Bolton managed to land a dagger straight to the Leeds heart. Normal service resumed: high anxiety, finger nails bitten, hair pulled out and a lovely Saturday afternoon jangling any nerves that were still functional. In the midst of seeing how white one’s knuckles can go, there was some nice football to admire but squeaky bottom time is much more fun. I’m taking a trip to QPR tomorrow. I might pop into London Zoo. I wonder if they let you put your head in the lion’s mouth. Man of the match: Jack Harrison.