Leeds United fans would have entered Elland Road on Monday full of both nerves and excitement, knowing that one more win and Sheffield United failing to win in a showdown with Burnley in the Championship would clinch promotion.
Well, the Whites certainly kept to their end of the bargain in West Yorkshire with Daniel Farke’s hosts hammering a petrified Stoke City side 6-0 in front of their jubilant home masses and after the Blades later went on to lose against the Clarets, promotion to the Premier League was sealed in spectacular fashion at the second time of asking.
Joel Piroe – who has had his fair share of critics in recent weeks for his wasteful showings – staggeringly chipped in with four of the strikes, with the Dutchman a man possessed in front of goal as he became their promotion hero.
Piroe's remarkable performance vs Stoke City
Heading into this big clash against Mark Robins’ visitors earlier today, Piroe was deep in a barren patch of form, with nine Championship clashes passing him by without finding the net.
He more than made up for these lacklustre showings on Monday, however, as the deadly 25-year-old sucker-punched Stoke with two goals inside the first ten minutes.
Constantly in the right place at the right time to tap home, Piroe would go on to secure a memorable hat-trick inside a bonkers 20 minutes after his early brace, before further managing to fire home his fourth of the remarkable day four minutes before the half-time interval.
Now up to a league-high 19 strikes for the season in the second tier, the ex-Swansea City man will be hoping he can be equally as clinical for the Whites if Premier League football returns to Elland Road, with this whirlwind win pulling them ever closer back to the promised land.
But, whilst Piroe obviously delivered a display of the highest order, he wasn’t the only Whites performer against the Potters who was near faultless…
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10/10 Leeds star was as good as Piroe
Nobody in Leeds white exactly let the team down in all fairness, with every single player picked by Farke singing off the same hymn sheet to secure a huge three points.
While the attack were en song at Elland Road, the two full-backs were in fine fettle too, evoking memories of Ian Harte in his prime, charging forward to contribute in the final third with Junior Firpo finding the net and Jayden Bogle running the Stoke defence ragged.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
1
Touches
63
Accurate passes
28/42 (67%)
Shots
2
Key passes
1
Successful dribbles
3/3
Interceptions
2
Tackles
4
Total duels won
10/12
He has had a fine season in West Yorkshire to date after dramatically leaving Sheffield United behind for Leeds last summer.
The gung-ho full-back would get in on the act when assisting Piroe’s second of the day, taking Bogle’s assist count for the season all the way up to a weighty four, on top of his stunning six strikes, while he also hit the post in the build-up to Piroe’s fourth.
Bogle would constantly maraud forward and leave Stoke shirts in the dust – seen in his 100% dribble completion rate – leading to Leeds reporter Graham Smyth to remark that the expansive 24-year-old “absolutely mullered” the Potters across a breathtaking first half.
But, the ex-Blades defender also looked strong defensively when infrequently called into action, with four tackles and ten duels won to preserve Leeds’ likely clean sheet.
Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned Smyth dished out a flawless 10/10 rating to Bogle post-match too, waxing lyrical further that he “tortured” Robins’ visitors who just had no answer to the home side’s persistent waves of attacks.
Come the full-time whistle, Leeds simply looked top-flight bound after brushing aside Stoke with ease, with both Bogle and Piroe ready for the challenge of Premier League football.
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