In Leeds United’s 1-0 victory over Norwich City on Wednesday, January 24, Phil Hay was left perplexed by what he described as a “weird” occurrence.

With a victory, the Whites hope to reduce the distance between themselves and the automatic promotion slot to two points ahead of their Championship match at Elland Road on Wednesday night.

And Dan James’ excellent cross set up the in-form Bamford for his fourth goal in five games for Leeds United with a superb header inside the six-yard box, giving Daniel Farke’s team the perfect start.

Leeds dominated much of the first half, but when the Whites were oddly forced to camp inside their own half by a determined Norwich, maybe as a tactical manoeuvre, the second half almost saw a total 180-degree change in performance.

On January 24, Hay responded to it on his personal Twitter account, saying, “I’m really risking an equaliser for Norwich here. The press has become much more passive, with low block. Strange.

Very weird

For much of the year, the Whites have been known to completely shut out opponents at Elland Road, sometimes finishing games long before the 80th minute. However, in the second half, when they were in control, they let Norwich back into the game.

Leeds supporters will never know if it was a calculated move by Farke or if his squad was compelled to take such a dangerous strategy in the second half, but the German isn’t known for it.

Bamford’s spectacular header put Leeds ahead early in the first half, and if they had been more potent, they could have easily scored two more goals.

Because of how difficult the Championship is, major teams like Leeds simply cannot become comfortable or else they would face severe consequences; the Whites came dangerously close to that fate.

The Canaries have shown remarkable growth in recent weeks, both in terms of their performances and their outcomes, while the Whites almost lost three vital points in the second half due to their actions.