Leeds United dropped two points on Friday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Rotherham United.
The Whites had the opportunity to go within five points of the automatic promotion places and when Crysencio Summerville put the visitors ahead inside six minutes, it felt as though they’d run away with the tie.
However, his beautifully curled effort, assisted by Georginio Rutter, was cancelled out moments before half-time thanks to Hakeem Odofin, who pounced on a loose ball to fire past Illan Meslier.
Leeds pushed for a winner and thought they had it when substitute Jaidon Anthony fired home in the 90th minute only for the linesman to raise his flag for an offside on Patrick Bamford.
Crysencio Summerville’s performance against Rotherham in numbers
The Dutch dynamo was a thorn down Rotherham’s right flank all night, catching the eye with his superbly taken goal and quality chance creation.
Aside from scoring his seventh of the season on Friday, he also served up three key passes for his teammates and was influential to everything positive that Daniel Farke’s side constructed in attack.
Through his fleet-footed dribbling that allows him to unlock defences at will and his electrifying pace in behind, the Millers weren’t the only side this term that have struggled to cope with his scintillating wide play.
Having completed four of his eight attempted dribbles and registered three shots on target, Summerville was constantly looking to make things happen by opening space for himself and others in the final third.
A hugely influential figure in Farke’s attack, the 22-year-old also demonstrated his willingness to track back and win possession for his team, winning eight of his 14 ground duels and 100% of his aerials.
The Dutch wizard, however, wasn’t the only impressive performer on the night as central midfielder Glen Kamara ran the show alongside Ethan Ampadu in the engine room.
Glen Kamara’s performance in numbers against Rotherham
Although Rotherham are fighting at the bottom of the Championship, they demonstrated their physicality and strength in central areas against Leeds, battling for every ball.
Kamara, who has struck up a strong partnership with Ampadu in a double pivot this season, had to be at his best, technically and physicality, to prevent the hosts from gaining an upper hand in midfield.
He certainly rose to the occasion of a Yorkshire derby, throwing himself into four tackles and winning all six of his attempted ground duels.
The Finnish international demonstrated his ability as a tackling machine and it was his hard work and determination out of possession that set the precedent for his distribution on the ball.
Previously dubbed as a “class act” by former manager Steven Gerrard, the 28-year-old put in a tidy display on the ball and was a key cog in the Whites’ build-up phase, recycling possession efficiently and splitting lines with his pin-point passing.
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Leeds titan with 90% duels won was Farke’s true hero over Summerville on Friday
The impressive colossus stood up to the task on Friday night against Rotherham.
Kamara certainly showed his class in South Yorkshire, making 82 touches, completing 94% of his passes and both of his attempted dribbles whilst complimenting that near-perfect midfield performance by only losing possession on five occasions – the least of any starting player for Leeds.
He solidified himself as a hero on the night for Farke through this complete display.
