Seventh heaven for Leeds United
Promotion is the elephant in Dennis Wise's dressing room, but the city of Leeds can think about nothing else.
As sensible as Wise may be to cling to caution, he is clutching at straws if he expects others to do the same.
Leeds United's first victory of the season at Tranmere brought forth a chant from their supporters claiming the club would win League One's title; after seven successive victories, Wise's fight to rein in expectation is nothing more than a losing battle.
United claimed their seventh win of the season yesterday, equalling in the process the club's finest ever start to a season produced by Don Revie's first division champions of 1974.
The importance of the record has been lost on Wise, who is reluctant to concern himself with bygone eras at Elland Road, and the historical significance was of less importance than the conviction with which Leeds swept aside a talented Swansea City team.
That United extended their sequence of success was an achievement in itself, but it mattered more that the record was matched by their most impressive performance of the season.
Wise's players have not always been as good as their results this term, but there was no dispute with the scoreline yesterday.
Even a disagreement over the manner of Leeds' opening goal could not protect Swansea from the fact that a comfortable defeat was all Robert Martinez's side had deserved.
Two goals in the space of four second-half minutes earned Leeds their victory, the first coming after Sebastien Carole had quietly moved a free-kick from the left-hand touchline to within feet of the edge of the box.
His cut-back was volleyed home by Jermaine Beckford, who claimed his sixth goal of what has been a wonderful personal season to date, and the strike left Martinez incensed.
Leeds, however, were worth their lead and more, and a searing striker from David Prutton quickly put the result beyond doubt.
City seemed somewhat intimidated by both their hosts and the surroundings yesterday, but the goals came just as the visitors appeared to have weathered the worst of United's pressure. Leeds, though, have developed a talent for forcing goals, and the victory suited their display.
Having sat at the bottom of the League One table just nine days ago, Wise can now consider his next move from 18th in the division.
The first half belonged to Leeds, but not convincingly enough to provide them with the lead.
United could not have gone much closer than Tresor Kandol's strike against the post, or a header from Manuel Rui Marques which Swansea goalkeeper Dorus De Vries clawed off his goalline, but a controlled display of sporadic dominance from Wise's players went unrewarded before the interval.
Kandol's chance came with eight minutes of the half remaining, and 60 seconds after referee Graham Laws had resisted a worthwhile claim for a penalty from Prutton.
The former Southampton midfielder appeared to have his legs taken from under him amid a crowd of three Swansea players, but he was immediately alert to space on the left wing and fed a pass to Kandol inside the box.
Kandol's finish from an awkward angle rolled towards the far side of De Vries' net but caught the inside of the post. The rebound favoured Swansea and allowed the visitors to retain parity with a desperate clearance.
City had earlier relied on De Vries to keep out Marques' effort, a header from Carole's cross which the keeper flicked away with his fingertips, and United were free to control the game against a Swansea side who planned to counter-attack and never allowed themselves to be drawn away from those tactics.
The threat to Leeds came solely from ambitious shots from long range, none of which gave Casper Ankergren more than routine involvement.On the one occasion when Wise's defence lost either of Martinez's strikers, in the 23rd minute, Darryl Duffy's instinctive lob lacked accuracy and bounced safely past the post.
Paul Anderson and Ferrer Bodde tested Ankergren from outside his box, but Swansea seemed more likely to succumb to the pace of a fixture which flowed at an impressive speed.
De Vries was beaten by a powerful shot from Andrew Hughes in the 34th minute but saw the strike fade beyond his goal, and he had relied on wayward finishing to protect his clean sheet as early as the ninth minute when Matt Heath's knock-down was stabbed over the crossbar by Carole on the edge of the six-yard area.
Further headers from Prutton and Kandol gave Swansea discomfort before half-time and, having seen his players take their chances with efficiency this season, Wise might have worried about the implications of an encouraging half which had failed to supply them with an advantage.
United's boss had named an unchanged line-up after last week's 3-0 defeat of Bristol City, and the absence of Alan Thompson with a groin injury was notable again.
Wise's midfield was more productive than it had been at the Memorial Stadium but, devoid of Thompson's inevitable flashes of class, their influence shone through only in patches until the game slipped beyond Swansea's reach.
City, however, were timid in front of United's biggest attendance of the season, and the second half seemed to promise Leeds their seventh straight victory.
Beckford attempted to forced the issue two minutes after half-time when his fierce shot was deflected behind by De Vries' body, and Prutton's left-foot effort slipped wide after Swansea had allowed him to run freely along the face of their box.
But after City had shown their hand briefly during a short spell of pressure, Martinez's defence cracked in the 62nd minute.
Jonathan Douglas was fouled on left wing by Angel Rangel, and Carole's clever free-kick into the box found Beckford, who lashed a volley past De Vries.
There was a question over whether Carole had taken the free-kick from the right position, but Swansea had no time to complain.
Four minutes later, Prutton ran onto a loose ball 25 yards from goal and settled the outcome with a screaming finish which flew beyond De Vries before he could react.
Swansea had no energy to respond, and Martinez's players were in danger of being routed.
Their only chance to reduce the deficit fell to Warren Feeney, whose close-range shot was brilliantly parried by Ankergren with the goal at the striker's mercy.
But the outcome was already secure by then, and De Vries was called upon again to block a shot across goal from Beckford and a rare effort from full-back Jamie Clapham, encouraged forward by United's appetite for victory which is currently limitless.
Leeds United: Ankergren, Richardson, Heath, Marques, Clapham, Prutton, Douglas, Hughes, Carole (Westlake 74), Beckford (Flo 90), Kandol. Subs (not used): Martin, Huntington, Parker.
Swansea City: De Vries, Rangel, Lawrence, Monk, Painter, Butler, O'Leary (Pratley 68), Bodde, Anderson (Orlandi 66), Duffy (Feeney 68), Scotland. Subs (not used): Austin, Knight.
Referee: G Laws (Tyne & Wear)
Attendance: 29,467
YEP
