The job is not done yet, far from it. But on a rainswept evening in West Yorkshire, the collective response from everyone associated with Leeds United for each of their goals left you in no doubt that this had the whiff of a season-defining night.
With Leeds and Nottingham Forest sitting an advantageous but not decisive six points above the relegation zone before kick-off, and 18th-placed West Ham United away to Burnley on Saturday, it felt like both these famous old clubs knew victory here could dramatically shape the remaining three months of the campaign.
For 20 minutes or so, it was unpredictable, end-to-end and pretty breathless viewing. But a four-minute period which encapsulated Forest’s season to date was decisive, as they spectacularly fell apart and conceded twice midway through the first half before Dominic Calvert-Lewin settled this quintessential relegation six-pointer shortly after half-time.
The consequences of this result will fully be known only by the time the weekend is out. If West Ham do slip up, this could well be the night that goes a long way towards securing Premier League survival for Leeds. If they continue this sort of form at Elland Road – 22 of their 29 points have come at home – they will probably be fine no matter what.
