Match ends, Leeds United 1, Brentford 0.
LeedsLeeds United1BrentfordBrentford0
Leeds United ended their 10-match winless run with victory over Brentford to boost their play-off hopes.
Liam Cooper headed the hosts into the lead from Ezgjan Alioski's free-kick.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga nearly scored a second when his shot beat goalkeeper Dan Bentley but Ryan Woods cleared off the line.
Bees defender John Egan had forced a fine save from home keeper Felix Wiedwald before Cooper's goal but the visitors rarely threatened thereafter.
It was Leeds' first win under Paul Heckingbottom, their previous success having come at Burton on Boxing Day under previous head coach Thomas Christiansen.
They had come within seconds of claiming victory at Derby on Wednesday before conceding a late equaliser, but never looked likely to suffer a similar disappointment after Cooper headed in his first goal of the season.
Alioski felt he should have had a penalty in the second half when he went down under a challenge from Yoann Barbet, but the referee was unmoved, while Woods did well to clear Lasogga's shot off the line as Leeds pressed for a second.
Heckingbottom's men are now 11th, five points off the play-offs, with Brentford a point and a place better off.
Leeds boss Paul Heckingbottom:
"It's good to have the first win, it is a reward for the hard work of the players.
"There are lots of positives to take from the performance. Lots of organisation goes into it and to be successful in this league you have to be
able to defend and stop teams as well as hurt teams.
"We had chances to get the second and close the game out and that is an area where we will need to be better."
Brentford boss Dean Smith:
"It looked like it was going to be one way traffic, but then the Leeds goal comes from an offside position.
"We should have had a penalty when Neal Maupay gets thrown to the ground. You want the big decisions to go your way, but they didn't today.
"We were too sloppy on the ball and the subs didn't work today. We were very poor on the ball, certainly in the second half."
Line-ups
Leeds
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Wiedwald
- 28Berardi
- 18Jansson
- 6Cooper
- 8AnitaBooked at 23mins
- 14O'Kane
- 23Phillips
- 15DallasSubstituted forSackoat 83'minutes
- 21SáizSubstituted forVieiraat 90+4'minutes
- 10AlioskiBooked at 24mins
- 9LasoggaSubstituted forEkubanat 74'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Pennington
- 22Cibicki
- 24Sacko
- 25Vieira
- 30Peacock-Farrell
- 33Denton
- 45Ekuban
Brentford
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Bentley
- 22Dalsgaard
- 14EganBooked at 73mins
- 5Bjelland
- 29BarbetBooked at 80mins
- 15WoodsBooked at 53mins
- 19SawyersBooked at 45minsSubstituted forJudgeat 69'minutes
- 7Jozefzoon
- 12MokotjoSubstituted forMarcondesat 69'minutes
- 11WatkinsSubstituted forCanosat 59'minutes
- 9Maupay
Substitutes
- 10McEachran
- 17Marcondes
- 18Judge
- 20Clarke
- 28Daniels
- 33Mepham
- 47Canos
- Referee:
- Oliver Langford
- Attendance:
- 28,428
Match Stats
Home TeamLeedsAway TeamBrentford
- Possession
- Home38%
- Away62%
- Shots
- Home9
- Away13
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away3
- Corners
- Home5
- Away9
- Fouls
- Home12
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Leeds United 1, Brentford 0.
Post update
Foul by Emiliano Marcondes (Brentford).
Post update
Pontus Jansson (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Leeds United. Ronaldo Vieira replaces Samuel Sáiz.
Post update
Alan Judge (Brentford) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Hadi Sacko (Leeds United).
Post update
Offside, Leeds United. Kalvin Phillips tries a through ball, but Caleb Ekuban is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Sergi Canos (Brentford) right footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right following a set piece situation.
Post update
Attempt saved. Alan Judge (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Post update
Emiliano Marcondes (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Pontus Jansson (Leeds United).
Post update
Corner, Leeds United. Conceded by Yoann Barbet.
Substitution
Substitution, Leeds United. Hadi Sacko replaces Stuart Dallas.
Post update
Attempt missed. Neal Maupay (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Emiliano Marcondes.
Booking
Yoann Barbet (Brentford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Yoann Barbet (Brentford).
Post update
Samuel Sáiz (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Corner, Leeds United. Conceded by John Egan.
Post update
Alan Judge (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
