Sub De Vries is Leeds United's hero
Leeds United 1 Yeovil Town 0
Carlsberg don't do home debuts, but if they did they would probably involve Mark De Vries.
The striker's first appearance for Hearts at Tynecastle five years ago brought four goals against Hibernian in a rout of an Edinburgh derby, and his maiden game at Elland Road yesterday was made to match.
The Dutchman ended his brief appearance from the substitutes' bench by heading home the only goal of an unflattering clash with Yeovil Town, and provided the type of unlikely finish which has become almost a weekly occurrence with Leeds.
De Vries angled his finish beyond goalkeeper Romain Larrieu with his only chance in the 89th minute, bringing United three points at the expense of their distraught visitors.
Yeovil had controlled the first half and withstood heavy pressure to create the better opportunities during the second, but there is something inevitable about United's results.
On eight occasions this season Wise's players have produced a goal in the final five minutes, a tendency which is proving incredibly valuable.
On De Vries' first outing at Oldham on Tuesday, it took a strike from Ian Westlake four-and-a-half minutes into injury time to secure a 1-0 win from a game which United had not even shaded.
De Vries' first goal for Leeds came slightly earlier against Yeovil, but the effect was identical. Dramatic would be the appropriate superlative, if only results like yesterday's were anything out of the ordinary for Leeds.
Wise is of the opinion that United have already met – and beaten – the most effective teams in League One, but other clubs would beg to differ. Yeovil are one of those, and Russell Slade made the point of stressing that his squad would not willingly play the part of lambs to the slaughter.
Last season's beaten play-off finalists have been quietly effective this season, scoring few goals and conceding fewer, and their goal difference was responsible for keeping them beneath the play-off places before kick-off at Elland Road.
As if to prove the seriousness of their intent, Yeovil stifled Leeds with a measured performance of quiet ambition, and created three chances which should have left De Vries in no position to steal victory.
Two of those opportunities came before half-time, and though United's results have kept them beyond criticism, their contribution before the interval was as ineffective as anything Wise has witnessed from his players this season.
As with their victory at Oldham, a compact midfield left no space for Leeds to exploit, and Yeovil were schooled in the art of mastering direct tactics.
It seemed as if Slade had studied Tuesday night's fixture at Boundary Park closely, and United's lack of panache allowed their visitors to develop a sense of confidence.
Yeovil do not possess the players needed to tear League One to shreds, and their transfers dealings during the summer were not exactly the programme of strengthening that Slade might have wished for after their appearance in the play-off final.
But his squad is capable, and contains a pleasant mixture of young legs and experienced heads. It was one of each who might have given Yeovil the lead before the interval.
The better opportunity feel to Anthony Barry, a 21-year-old Liverpudlian who thrived on his role in the centre of a cramped midfield.
Barry was left completely unmarked when a counter-attack sucked Wise's defence towards the right-hand side of the Elland Road pitch, and a crossfield pass from Paul Warne slid nicely into his team-mate's path.
Barry took a gentle touch and ran clear in United's box, but Casper Ankergren moved forward quickly to meet the threat and threw his body behind a fierce shot. The chance was Barry's to miss as much as Ankergren's to save, but the Dane's reactions were outstanding.
They were examined again seven minutes before half-time, and passed another difficult test.
Warne benefited from a ricochet on the edge of United's area and drilled a sharp volley towards the left-hand corner, but the keeper's save at full-stretch kept the ball out.
A shot from Sebastien Carole, after interplay between the Frenchman, Jonathan Douglas and Manuel Rui Marques, was as much as United had to show for their effort in the first half, although the build-up was as considered as any of Yeovil's attacks.
Carole's effort rose high over the bar, and a strike from Jamie Clapham which Terrell Forbes blocked long before it reached goalkeeper Romain Larrieu was their only other memorable threat. Wise's comments at half-time would have been fascinating to hear.
United's boss is loathe to criticise his players unnecessarily, but United were uninspired at Oldham and he would not wish to see ill-deserved victories become more regular than they have to be. Even with Jermaine Beckford and Tresor Kandol back in harness after one-match bans, Leeds were short of inspiration in and around Yeovil's box.
But the start of the start of the second half brought a surge of energy from Wise's players, and an injection of pace into a game which had otherwise had none. Beckford tested Larrieu's handing with a low shot from 20 yards three minutes after the break, and Clapham's volley from a tight angle beat Larrieu and the post.
But Yeovil's threat was apparent in flashes, and United's gift of space to Warne in the 57th minute saw the former Rotherham midfielder skim the ball dangerously close to Ankergren's crossbar.
The game was going nowhere at speed, although Marcus Stewart will carry the burden for Yeovil's failure to inflict United's first defeat after wasting the game's finest chance 17 minutes from time. Matt Heath's poor control inside his own box presented the ball to Kevin Betsy, but his pass across the face of Ankergren's goal was sliced wide by a criminally casual finish from Stewart.
The cost of his finish came to bear two minutes from time. Wise had gambled by introducing De Vries and Tore Andre Flo for two midfielders, and when Jonathan Douglas' cross from the right wing carried to the far post, De Vries guided a header back over Larrieu and into the far corner of the net.
Not a single soul in Elland Road was remotely surprised.
Leeds United: Ankergren, Richardson, Heath, Marques, Clapham, Prutton (Flo 76), Hughes (Westlake 84), Douglas, Carole (De Vries 76), Beckford, Kandol. Subs (not used): Huntington, Da Costa.
Yeovil Town: Larrieu, Lynch, Guyett, Forbes, Jones, Betsy, Barry, Warne (Domoraud 90), Rose, Stewart, Owusu. Subs (not used): Jones, Gillett, Alcock, Ujah.
Referee: A Taylor (Greater Manchester)
Attendance: 27,808
YEP
