Leeds boss Daniel Farke saluted his side’s “ice-cold” finishing in their 3-1 win over Swansea at Elland Road and said there was more to come.

Goals from Joel Piroe and Dan James, both against their former club, sandwiched another clinical effort from Georginio Rutter as Leeds kept pace in the Championship automatic-promotion race.

Farke’s side had fallen behind to Jamie Paterson’s excellent finish inside the opening minute, but hit back in style to make it seven wins in their last nine league matches.

Farke said: “Efficiency is a topic we always speak about, but the way we scored these three goals was outstanding.

“I can’t criticise my offensive players today too much in terms of their performance and how they created the chances and the way they scored the three goals. It was great today.

“My gut feeling is we can still improve our effectiveness, but we also had some iced-cold finishes today.”

Leeds extended their unbeaten home league run to nine games this season and Farke felt all three of his goalscorers showed excellent technique in dispatching their chances.

“When I think about the finish of Joel Piroe, also Georginio’s fantastic second goal, also Dan James’ with his weaker left foot, it was a perfect first touch at high speed and perfect finish,” the former Norwich boss added.

“We’re on the right path in many ways, but it’s also not the time to feel too comfortable and too proud of ourselves.

“The next difficult opponent already awaits on Saturday (Middlesbrough at Elland Road) and we have to make sure we are ready again and finish in the same manner, if not better.”

Swansea remain 18th in the table, seven points above the bottom three, after winning only one of their last seven league matches.

But they created problems for Leeds on the counter-attack before Rutter’s strike in first-half stoppage time quelled their fire and manager Michael Duff said the hosts’ forward line made all the difference.

Duff said: “A disappointing evening in terms of the result, but I thought the performance was really good. In the first half I thought we were excellent.

“We conceded poor goals at poor times, but we asked the players to show personality and bravery and we played through them a lot.

“Ultimately we’ve been undone by Premier League quality. The first goal, (made by Crysencio) Summerville is obviously very good.

“It’s not an excuse, but sometimes you’ve got to hold your hands up, the one-two he played and the pass for Joel. We know all about Joel.

“The pass and the touch (by Rutter) for the second goal and even the third goal, the weight of (Rutter’s) pass was perfect.”

Leeds maintained their pursuit of the Sky Bet Championship’s top two with a 3-1 win against Swansea at Elland Road.

In a breathless start, Leeds had already had a goal disallowed when Jamie Paterson gave Swansea a first-minute lead, but Daniel Farke’s side hit back to level through Joel Piroe against his former club three minutes later.

Georginio Rutter fired Leeds ahead in first-half stoppage time and former Swan Dan James added their third just after the hour-mark.

Leeds leapfrogged West Brom back into third place by extending their unbeaten home record this season to nine matches and have now won seven of their last nine.

After a minute’s applause before kick-off for Terry Venables, who died on Sunday aged 80, the game exploded into action.

Leeds were celebrating inside the opening minute when James converted Rutter’s cross, but the Wales forward was ruled offside and seconds later Swansea scored.

Leeds skipper Pascal Struijk made a hash of his header back to Illan Meslier following Josh Key’s long punt forward and Paterson stole in to clip a brilliant finish over the stranded Leeds goalkeeper from the edge of the area.

The home side’s response was immediate. Crysencio Summerville played a neat one-two with Glen Kamara and threaded a killer pass through for Piroe to side-foot into the bottom corner.

It was the Dutchman’s ninth goal in total this season, two of them scored for Swansea in the League Cup in August before his switch to Elland Road later that month.

Leeds fans sang a pre-planned tribute to their former number 11 Gary Speed in the 11th minute – the 12th anniversary of his death was on Monday – before their side’s appeals for a penalty when Sam Byram’s cross struck Key were waved away.

Summerville’s goalbound shot was saved by Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth’s legs and the impressive forward was then denied by Jay Fulton’s last-ditch block as Leeds chased a second.

That came in first-half stoppage-time. Rutter raced on to Ethan Ampadu’s raking ball down the middle, held off Bashir Humphreys after a brilliant first touch and buried a left-footed finish into the bottom corner.

Summerville blazed over early in the second period as Leeds looked to extend their advantage and the third goal came in the 61st minute.

James ran on to Rutter’s deft pass inside the area after Byram’s thumping tackle and smashed home his fifth league goal of the season.

Patrick Bamford was a whisker away from adding a fourth from Summerville’s cutback and fellow substitute Jaidon Anthony headed just over in time added on.

Daniel Farke admitted his Leeds side made life complicated in a 2-1 win over Plymouth at Elland Road which keeps them in the automatic promotion race.

Leeds controlled the first half but were nearly caught out after the Pilgrims grabbed a late goal.

Dan James gave Leeds an early lead as he curled in, and Joel Piroe doubled the advantage in another dominant first-half display which the home side failed to build on after the interval.

Substitute Ben Waine’s late consolation ensured a nervous finish for the home fans.

Farke said: “I take the three points all day long. If you would have offered me a 2-1 win before the game, I would have taken it.

“It was an outstanding win at Leicester and the training week was too easy. I was waiting for a sucker punch.

“The result was perfect and obviously when you are so dominant like we were in the first half and the chances we had in the second half, if you don’t score the goals in the second half there is a good and brave opponent who plays with freedom and goes for it.

“Our defending was excellent, in the second half they had one chance and they scored a goal. I was pleased we didn’t allow them one more chance to score. We made our life more complicated that it should have been.”

Leeds created plenty of early pressure and took the lead when James curled home from the edge of the area after Kaine Kesler-Hayden gave the ball away with 20 minutes gone.

Crysencio Summerville played in Piroe behind the Plymouth back line, and he slid the ball between goalkeeper Michael Cooper’s legs just before the half hour to make it 2-0.

Plymouth proved more of a threat in the second half and scored with five minutes remaining as Luke Cundle chased a ball down the right and crossed low for Waine to turn home from close range.

Steven Schumacher felt his side had acquitted themselves well against a team pushing for promotion to the Premier League.

He said: “For 20 minutes in the first half I thought we did OK. We limited Leeds to a few chances on goal.

“The only disappointing thing in the first half was the two errors in front of our own box.
Against a top team with quality players, we got punished.

“Second half obviously we were a bit better. We had nothing to lose with 25 minutes, half an hour to go. I am really pleased with the effort against a top team.”

Schumacher was happy with the impact of his substitutes.

He said: “We always say it whether you start a game or come off the bench it’s important you know your role. I thought Ben Waine gave us a focal point at the top end of the pitch.”

Schumacher also felt his side should have had a first-half penalty.

“The one when Bali (Mumba) went into the box you could hear the contact. I asked why that wasn’t a foul and was told it was a coming together. If we had gone in 2-1 at half time it would have given us confidence.

“Our lads give us absolutely everything they have got. When we got that goal, we had a great chance to get an equaliser. I’m proud of the lads that we kept going.”

Leeds manager Daniel Farke felt his side’s 1-0 victory at Championship leaders Leicester was a reward for a performance of “bravery and courage”.

Georginio Rutter’s 57th-minute goal was enough to make sure Leeds closed in on Ipswich in second place, and condemn Leicester to their second home defeat of the season.

Farke praised an impressive display from Leeds, who took the game to Leicester early on and produced what was a statement win at the King Power Stadium.

“We were brave and went for it with courage as a side who have been unbeaten for so long,” said the Leeds manager.

“It was a complex performance on the field, but we stayed disciplined and kept them to areas where they couldn’t hurt us. I believed in my players and that they could dominate the game.

“You could see the goal coming in the second half, it was a deserved win, we had the better chances.

“The only thing Georginio needed to improve was his goal tally. This was a decisive goal and a sign of quality.”

Farke highlighted the fact that Leeds’ players celebrated with goalkeeper Illan Meslier after the game.

The Frenchman produced a superb save to keep out a stoppage-time header from Leicester’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

“If you want to achieve something special, you need unity,” added the German coach. “That is why the players celebrated Illan’s save. He is a diamond, if he continues to produce performances like this we are definitely on the right path, I think he is the best keeper in the league.

“I also felt that Glen Kamara had his best game in a white shirt.

“For us at the moment, the table is not important. Whatever the outcome here, everything would be possible for both sides. But it was a massive three points for us, a great boost. It was a good night for us.

“But Leicester are such a good side, I’m sure at the end of the season they’ll be in a top position.”

Farke admitted he was “disappointed” to be shown a yellow card for protesting against referee Dean Whitestone’s decision to wave away appeals after Crysencio Summerville went down under pressure from Ricardo Pereira.

“It was only my second yellow card in over 200 games in English football,” he said. “I was a bit disappointed, for me it was definitely a foul. Was it a penalty or a free-kick and a red card.  He didn’t whistle anything, it was a decisive moment.”

Leicester had been aiming for a  10th successive win, but they remain 11 points clear of Leeds in third spot.

Abdul Fatawu hit the crossbar in the first half, but Leicester managed only one effort on target during the game.

“I’m happy with the performance, we expected this match in terms of intensity,” said Leicester manager Enzo Maresca.

“They are a very good team, dangerous and good technically. We cannot win all the games. Overall I am happy, defeat is part of the process. It’s a case of what we can do better, and for sure, we can do some things better.

“I felt we deserved something more from the game.”

Maresca said he felt that, while Leeds took the three points, it had been Sunderland in the previous home game that had offered more in the way of tempo.

“Sunderland were more aggressive and more consistent,” said the Italian. “They started in minute one and finished in minute 95.

“Leeds started with intensity in the first half, and they dropped in the last minutes. We were in control for the last half hour. For me, the team that showed more intensity was Sunderland.”

Georginio Rutter earned Leeds a 1-0 victory against Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester as Daniel Farke’s side took another step towards challenging the top two.

The result still leaves Leicester 11 points clear of Leeds in third place, but this will be seen as a statement victory against a side who have dominated the division this season.

Abdul Fatawu hit the crossbar in the first half, and Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier produced a superb save to keep out a stoppage-time header from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. But Leicester had just one shot on target while suffering their second home defeat of the campaign.

Leicester, five points clear at the top, had been chasing a 10th successive victory and were looking to equal the best-ever start to a second tier season since Bristol City in the 1905-06 season.

But Leeds took on Enzo Maresca’s side head-on. They were rewarded when Rutter netted after 57 minutes with a goal that proved to be the winner.

Leicester found themselves under pressure early on, something they have not been used to at the King Power Stadium this season.

But Leeds, who were also relegated from the Premier League last season, caused Leicester problems and looked in confident mood.

Joel Piroe carved out space in the Leicester area after only two minutes, but he curled his shot wide of the target.

Maresca’s side began to find some momentum and the game suddenly switched from one end to the other as Fatawu raced in from the right and unleashed a powerful shot which shook the crossbar.

Leeds immediately moved into the Leicester area and Crysencio Summerville went down under pressure from Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira.

Referee Dean Whitestone waved away all appeals, much to Farke’s anger.  He made his feelings known in the technical area, with his protests seeing him shown a yellow card.

Leeds continued to put pressure on Leicester after the break and goalkeeper Mads Hermansen could only parry a Piroe shot, but there was no-one to take advantage of the loose ball.

Leeds who broke the deadlock when a Daniel James corner was met by Sam Byram’s header, which was pushed out by Hermansen. The Dane may have got lucky moments earlier, but this time the ball fell into Rutter’s path and he scored from close range for his third of the season.

Maresca had been planning to take off Jamie Vardy and replace him with Kelechi Iheanacho as the goal went in, a move which then happened with Leicester a goal down.

Leeds threatened a second with 17 minutes to go as James broke clear, but his low drive was smothered by Hermansen.

Leicester laid siege to the Leeds goal in the closing stages, but could not find the equaliser.

Daniel Farke believes Crysencio Summerville can get even better after the forward scored twice in Leeds’ 4-1 thrashing of Huddersfield at Elland Road.

The Dutchman – who also scored twice at Norwich last weekend – also set up a goal for Dan James as Leeds raced into a 4-0 lead during a dominant first-half display.

But Farke would like to see more from the 21-year-old, with the Leeds boss insisting: “In terms of end product he has improved a lot in comparison to the start of the season.

“I think he was already playing on a top level but it is necessary for a young player to develop so that he is getting goals and assists.

“(In training) We are always bringing him into situations where he has to finish, where he has to find the finishing pass under pressure.

“It is about consistency, so a really good week in terms of end product but come on, keep going.”

Farke was delighted with his side’s performance, adding: “If you are 4-0 up at half-time I don’t think you can complain too much.”

James fired in the opener from 25 yards as Leeds eventually made their early pressure pay.

Summerville picked his spot for the second as the visitors’ defence failed to cope with Leeds’ free-flowing style with forward Georginio Rutter once again proving a handful.

Rutter was involved again in Leeds’ third, laying the ball off to Summerville who burst from his own half to set up James who fired a shot across Lee Nicholls.

Rutter again provided the chance for the fourth Leeds goal which came in first-half stoppage time.

He burst down the left and cut the ball back for Summerville who had time to turn twice inside the area before beating Nicholls with a shot which went through a crowd of players.

Huddersfield were gifted a consolation by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier who was unable to hold a shot from Sorba Thomas from outside the area.

Michal Helik had timed his move to stay onside and he fired in the rebound from close range with 70 minutes on the clock.

Huddersfield boss Darren Moore admitted his side suffered a disappointing day to end a poor week for his players on the back of a 4-0 home loss to Cardiff.

Moore said: “It’s a disappointing afternoon. It’s probably capped off what’s been a bad week for us results wise and in terms of performance.”

Moore felt his side missed the chance to get back into the game before Leeds got their second goal.

He added: “They went 1-0 up and we had a chance and if we could have capitalised on that… After that Leeds got two quick goals.

“We got into some wonderful threatening areas. When we got the ball around the Leeds area we just chose the wrong pass.

“The two quickfire goals from Leeds took the game away from us. We know they are a threatening team, certainly here.”

Moore was pleased with the way his players responded after the break, though, saying: “I made a couple of changes at half-time to solidify the team but the game just petered out in the second half.

“What I don’t want to do is lay the blame anywhere. We win together and we suffer defeats together as one.

“The team need to and will show better. We have to get back working and put this poor week behind us very quickly and move on.”

Leeds thrashed Huddersfield 4-1 at Elland Road keep their bid for a return to the Premier League on track.

Dan James and Crysencio Summerville both hit first half doubles as Daniel Farke’s men finally produced the sort of free-scoring display their dominance at home has threatened all season.

James opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Summerville added the second on the half-hour.

James soon added the third and Summerville completed the Leeds scoring on a day when the home side threatened to get at least twice as many.

Michal Helik netted a consolation for the visitors with 20 minutes remaining as Darren Moore’s side looked more compact after the break.

James fired in the opener from 25 yards as Leeds eventually made their early pressure pay and there was not way back from Huddersfield as they had little to offer at this point save for an off-target effort by Delano Burgzorg.

Summerville picked his spot for the second as the visitors’ defence failed to cope with Leeds’ free-flowing style with forward Georginio Rutter once again proving a handful.

It did not take long for Leeds to add a third and Rutter was involved once again, laying the ball off to Summerville who burst from his own half to set up James.

The winger was able to take his time before firing a shot across Lee Nicholls which the Huddersfield keeper could do little about.

Leeds could have had another but Nicholls this time proved equal to a Summerville shot and James blazed the rebound over.

Rutter again provided the chance for the fourth Leeds goal which came in first-half stoppage time.

He burst down the left and cut the ball back for Summerville who had time to turn twice inside the area before beating Nicholls with a shot which went through a crowd of players.

Any thoughts Leeds fans had a of a second-half rout were dispelled by a more compact Huddersfield who benefitted from two changes at the break.

Leeds worked hard for a fifth goal and also took the chance to make changes of their own to give needed game time for some of their fringe players.

A mistake by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier gave Huddersfield the chance to score a consolation after 70 minutes.

Meslier was unable to hold a shot from Sorba Thomas from outside the area and Helik had timed his move to stay onside and fire in the rebound from close range.

But that was as good as it got for Moore’s side on a day when they were well beaten by opponents who reside at the opposite end of the Championship table.

Patrick Bamford’s penalty miss proved costly as Leeds saw their three-match winning run in the Championship end with a 1-0 defeat at Stoke.

Whites substitute Bamford could have put the Yorkshire side ahead at the bet365 Stadium in the 75th minute but fired over from the spot.

And minutes later at the other end, Wesley’s header clipped the bottom of the crossbar and went in off Leeds captain Pascal Struijk for what proved to be the winner.

Daniel Farke’s side came into the encounter with a 100 per cent record in October, while Alex Neil’s Potters were aiming for successive victories after Saturday’s home triumph against Sunderland.

The Potters had first sight of goal in the opening minute when Andre Vidigal swept in a low shot after meeting Ki-Jana Hoever’s cross but it was straight at Illan Meslier.

Vidigal nearly turned creator in the fifth minute as Ryan Mmaee tested Meslier as Stoke’s bright start continued.

Aside from a misplaced Jordan Thompson pass which they could not capitalise upon, Leeds had very little joy in the final third in the opening stages.

Hoever’s fantastic work on the right led to a dangerous cross for Vidigal but Meslier was once again in the right place, while Mmaee curled over shortly after as Stoke’s onslaught showed no sign of stopping.

Leeds’ first real chance came when Georginio Rutter released Joel Piroe into the box and Mark Travers denied the 26th-minute effort with his legs, before claiming Rutter’s header from the resulting corner.

Stoke’s penalty appeal was waved away by referee Paul Tierney when Mehdi Leris turned and went down under Sam Byram’s challenge on the half-hour.

Mmaee’s endeavour in the box nearly forced an opener in first half stoppage time and Struijk was alert to clear the danger as the ball trickled towards goal.

After the break, Joe Rodon was in the right place to cut out Hoever’s low cross from the right as Stoke continued to threaten, though Jaidon Anthony cut into the box at the other end and curled wide.

Travers was equal to Rutter’s low drive before the hour as Leeds grew in confidence, the Whites striker later firing wide after darting into the box.

Leeds substitute Crysencio Summerville’s first act was to curl a promising effort just wide after 70 minutes.

Bamford won a penalty 15 minutes from time when Ben Pearson brought him down in the box and referee Tierney pointed to the spot, but the striker blasted it over the bar.

And it proved costly as from an 80th minute Hoever corner, Wesley headed against the bar and the ball went in off the unfortunate Struijk for what proved to be the winner.

Leeds kept pace with the Sky Bet Championship play-off pack with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Bristol City at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke’s side opened the scoring in the 37th minute when Dan James was in the right place to fire into the bottom corner after the visitors had failed to clear a flowing move by the home side.

Kal Naismith sent the sides in level at the break as he headed in a corner but Leeds regained the lead early in the second half through Joel Piroe’s neat finish from the edge of the area, which proved enough to earn all three points.

Leeds started on the front foot but from their first attack Ethan Ampadu sliced a volley off target.

City responded with a cross from the left by Nahki Wells but the ball flashed across goal just in front of the diving Rob Dickie.

Leeds should have taken the lead after 10 minutes when Crysencio Summerville found Georginio Rutter unmarked at the far post but he fired over the bar from two yards.

Ampadu then forced Max O’Leary to punch his fierce shot away as Leeds again pressed for the opening goal, before Summerville had a shot deflected for a corner after he latched onto Rutter’s flicked pass before bearing down on goal.

James finally opened the scoring when the ball broke to him six yards out and he found the bottom corner with a left foot shot, after Rutter had squared a recycled ball when goalkeeper O’Leary beat away a shot by Piroe.

But City levelled in the fourth minute of first half stoppage-time as Naismith rose to head in a corner and earn his side a barely deserved equaliser.

Leeds were ahead again seven minutes into the second half when Piroe shot in low from 20 yards after the home side had worked the ball across the Bristol City area.

The home side just failed to grab a third goal as Rutter’s pass set up Summerville but his rising shot from a tight angle was pushed onto the corner of post and bar by O’Leary.

Rutter then led a breakaway from the edge of his own area and after his pass to James had been blocked the Brazilian crossed from the right side of the area but Summerville was unable to apply the final touch.

Leeds thought they had made it 3-1 but Rutter had been offside from Sam Byram’s original shot, before poking home the rebound following O’Leary’s save.

Byram then headed off the line and did well to block an Andreas Weimann shot in the final 10 minutes as the home side held on for the win.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke was pleased to see his side grind out a 1-0 victory over QPR in the Championship.

Crysencio Summerville coolly slotted in the only goal of the contest after nine minutes to move the Whites into the play-off places.

The hosts missed chances to kill the game off against a QPR side who had goalkeeper Asmir Begovic sent off in stoppage time, but Leeds held on as they returned to winning ways following Saturday’s defeat to Southampton.

“I am really happy and pleased,” Farke said.

“I told the lads I am proud because you can be on a great spell like we were on before Southampton and after one bad result, the next game is very difficult.

“The confidence is not there like it was before and to grind out a result it’s never champagne or football fireworks, it’s always hard work.

“To bring this tight lead over the line and be there again with a clean sheet, a win, is fantastic and in this type of game you have to be there to be able to celebrate.”

Leeds missed a handful of chances in the second period which could have put them out of sight and Farke admitted it started to get more nervy as the game wore on.

He added: “When you don’t score the second goal the opponent believes there is a chance.

“Because you don’t score a second goal it gets more nervous. We dominated every stat, but one scruffy situation in the second half saw a ball go through and thank God (goalkeeper) Illan (Meslier) was in the right position.”

QPR slipped to their sixth league defeat of the season and are without a win in five, but boss Gareth Ainsworth took heart from the performance.

“We’ve had a couple of collapses in my time so resilience wise I’m very proud of the boys,” he said.

“They gave everything, I asked for a bit more output, bit more of the committed work rate, I haven’t seen enough of that this season and we have that tonight. I think we will finish way higher than what people think.”

Ainsworth disagreed with the decision to send off Begovic, who saw red after fouling Patrick Bamford outside his area.

“He (Begovic) does not touch him (Bamford). I’ve had verification from both players that there’s no contact,” Ainsworth said.

“Patrick’s a great lad and he’s just jumped out the way and the referee has seen it as he thought he caught him. We may be able to get it overturned, I don’t know.”

Leeds overcame Joe Rodon’s second-half sending-off to secure a goalless draw at Hull.

Daniel Farke’s men had the best chances of the first half – most significantly through the wasteful Georginio Rutter after 26 minutes – but they found debutant goalkeeper Ryan Allsop in inspired form.

Leeds supporters will have expected their team to kick on after the restart, but they were always up against it once Rodon was dismissed for a second bookable offence on the hour.

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior will be satisfied that their promising start to the season continued, now unbeaten since the opening day at Norwich.

But Rosenior will have expected much better of his offensive players inside the final third – not least when substitute Adama Traore somehow missed an open goal with two minutes remaining in normal time.

Given both sides’ fondness for playing football firmly on the front foot, it was perhaps a surprise that the game began so sluggishly.

Dan James swiped one high and wide early on, but neither Leeds nor Hull fans had much to shout about within the first 20 minutes.

The visitors’ gameplan was also disrupted when Willy Gnonto suffered an ankle injury and was replaced by Crysencio Summerville.

Ironically, Gnonto’s substitution seemed to awake Leeds from their slumber.

And they should have opened the scoring when Summerville threaded a lovely ball through the middle to Rutter.

Allsop expertly saved the one-on-one with his legs, but Rutter should have scored.

Summerville might then have got in on the act moments later, but Allsop reacted well with a sharp tip-over from a stinging hit on the left.

Allsop also thwarted Summerville from 20 yards with a lovely save at full stretch from the Dutch playmaker’s goalbound half-volley after 42 minutes.

Leeds’ relative dominance – not from a possession perspective but in terms of chances created – continued soon after the restart.

James and Summerville had opportunities off Luke Ayling’s smart cut-back, but Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves refused to yield with brave defending inside the six-yard box.

Hull, however, slowly grew into a game that changed once Rodon was sent off.

The Leeds centre-back was lured into a rash challenge on Aaron Connolly on the halfway line.

Having already been booked for a first-half foul on Jaden Philogene, referee Stephen Martin had little option but to show a red card.

Predictably, given their one-man handicap, Leeds were forced to retreat for long periods of the second half.

But other than Liam Delap’s powerful run and cross on the right, from which Connolly came within a stud’s length of connecting, the hosts were never especially threatening.

That was until the 88th minute when Connolly teed up Traore, but the Mali international extraordinarily struck the far post with the goal at his mercy.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke hailed his side’s mentality to overcome the hostile atmosphere of The Den and return home with three points as they beat Millwall 3-0.

Striker Joel Piroe scored once in each half to put Leeds in control before Georginio Rutter added a third 10 minutes from time to seal a memorable visit to the capital.

Farke’s side weathered an early storm from the hosts before Piroe opened the scoring after 15 minutes and the German lauded the way his side stood strong in trying circumstances at times.

“I’m proud of my guys today because I’ve played here several times at The Den, I know it’s an unbelievably tough place to come,” he said. ”You have to be on it and it was a pretty complex performance.

“There are periods of the game where you have to show some steel and reliance. You have to be there and show these qualities because you can’t win all these long balls and all these long throw ins and sometimes they’ll have a corner kick.

“It is so difficult, you have to dig in and give your life in these moments and also to stay cool and mentally strong and wait for the moments where you can let your qualities shine and that’s what we did today.

“To return back from such a tough place with a clean sheet to the dressing room and to score three goals is pretty amazing.”

A comprehensive defeat at home continued Millwall’s slow start to the season, with the Lions taking just seven points from their opening six matches.

But manager Gary Rowett insisted the scoreline did not accurately reflect the balance of the contest.

“It felt a little bit harsh,” he said. “You concede three goals, and the opposition don’t concede then of course a 3-0 scoreline is what it is.

“It doesn’t look a fair reflection of the effort the players put in.

“I thought we got up against them, I thought we pressed really well, I thought we took a gamble in playing a little bit higher.

“We won a lot of good balls in and around the Leeds half and got into some good areas, forced lots of corners and (had) moments around the box without really creating obvious chances. But I don’t think Leeds did either.

“We go from those periods of pressure where we’re doing a lot of things well and a lot of things right to concede a poor goal.

“To be 1-0 down felt a little unjust and maybe gave Leeds a tiny bit of a lift, but after that we continued to put them under pressure, continued some of those moments.”

Leeds boss Daniel Farke was unhappy with the retaken decisive spot-kick as Leeds suffered a dramatic 9-8 penalty shoot-out loss to Salford in the Carabao Cup.

Ossama Ashley scored at the second attempt after Karl Darlow had saved an initial effort only to be yellow-carded for moving off his line.

Farke said: “It was the only penalty to be retaken, but I can’t change the referee’s decision.”

Despite Leeds’ almost total dominance, the Ammies led at the break thanks to ex-Elland Road striker Matt Smith’s header.

Leeds skipper Pascal Struijk levelled it up with 14 minutes left, but they could not find a winner and Georginio Rutter and Jamie Shackleton missed as every outfield player stepped up in the shoot-out.

Farke said: “It’s disappointing, but we have to accept the loss.

“We hit the bar and the post, and had numerous chances to put the ball in the net, but we didn’t and we must improve on that.

“It’s not for me to punish or accuse anyone after going out of this competition – it’s just been one of those days.”

Salford boss Neil Wood has urged his players to take confidence from their latest scalp.

After beating Preston on penalties in the first round, the League Two Ammies went the distance again.

Wood said: “We really had to work hard, particularly defensively, so huge credit to the lads for that.

“There were moments when we had to defend for our lives, then once it goes to penalties, it really could go either way.

“We’ve been there before, so the lads know they’ve just got to keep their focus and hope for that little bit of luck.

“We got that, we’re through, but we’ve earned the right to be in the third-round draw.

“It’s great to test yourselves against sides from the Championship, so the lads need to take huge confidence from this victory.”

Daniel Farke had no hesitation in playing scoring duo Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra in Leeds’ 4-3 win at Ipswich.

The pair have been missing for a fortnight; Gnonto after submitting a transfer request as he tried to force a way out of the club and Sinisterra as his own future remained unresolved.

Farke sidelined the pair and was firm when discussing them in the week, particularly on the subject of Italy international Gnonto who he said had apologised after refusing to play.

The duo came back into the side as Farke secured his maiden league win as Leeds boss, with first goals for Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe on his debut ending Ipswich’s perfect record.

“I wasn’t too concerned about these two decisions (to pick Gnonto and Sinisterra) to be honest because I’ve watched them during the training week and they looked really, really sharp and disciplined and I had a really good feeling with this decision,” Farke said.

“I was in general pleased with our offensive firepower, especially because we played a side who just conceded one goal over their first four games.

“It’s a difficult place to come here, they played full of confidence and excited the home fans in the stadium and for us then to dig in and to grind out a result and to score four times is really, really good and especially the offensive play on the scoresheet.

“I am pleased for my offensive players that they showed real quality today and also clinical finishes and it’s good for the mood, good for the confidence, good for the table, good for them also to be off the mark in terms of goals and I am happy with this.”

Ipswich went ahead through a Joe Rodon own goal and pulled further strikes back through Nathan Broadhead in first-half injury time and Conor Chaplin late in the second.

It was not enough to extend Town’s unbeaten run to 22 games, though, and boss Kieran McKenna said. “I thought there was a lot more good than bad (from us), there are so many positives to take in the game.

“I thought we were the better and more dominant team in so many aspects of the game on and off the ball and there’s lots to be pleased about.

“On another day the game could have went differently.

“There was of course things for us to improve, big lessons to learn. Of course disappointment with the goals that we conceded in the first half.

“But that’s part of the adjustment about playing against a much better team, with much higher players – we’ll improve and we’ll learn from those mistakes and continue working to get better.

“I think overall there are so many things to give us confidence.

“It was a really intense start to the game … we were competing and got the goal, we were in a great position to go on and take control of the game and if we had been able to do that for a little while we would have been able to build up a lot more momentum.

“I had a feeling that today would be a high scoring game.”

Kayden Jackson’s darting run led to the first goal after seven minutes when his cross took a big deflection off Rodon to beat goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Leeds equalised three minutes later through Rutter’s individual brilliance and the visitors took the lead in the 14th minute through Gnonto.

They went further ahead with 19 minutes on the clock when Town goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky could only parry a shot from Sinisterra to Piroe who gobbled up the rebound.

Ipswich got their second through Broadhead but Sinisterra netted the fourth before Chaplin’s goal.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke knows he has a “hell of a task” on his hands at the club this season.

The Whites boss was talking after his side’s 1-1 draw with West Brom.

Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring with a controversial goal which came off his hand before captain Luke Ayling rescued the hosts a point at Elland Road.

Willy Gnonto has this week handed in a transfer request after a string of high-profile departures since the club were relegated from the Premier League.

Farke, whose side are searching for a first league win since the start of April, said: “It’s a hell of a challenge. We were expecting to keep a few of our quality players.

“We also have a few injuries to our key players which is also unlucky.

“We had to wait so long for the financial restrictions to get some incomings so it’s not been easy.

“Hopefully we can get better and better as the season goes. There were many encouraging signs today.

“It’s a long road, a bumpy road, a hell of a task. If it was easy then everybody would do it and I’m looking forward to this challenge.”

On the Albion goal, Farke added: “I wasn’t aware their goal was handball. I was thinking it might be, but I was too far away to judge it.

“We can only concentrate on what we can influence and that’s our performance.

“I only have compliments for the lads. I like this attitude, the lads never know when they are beaten.

“You have these periods in the season where you find it hard to win games so you have to make sure you don’t lose.

“I’m pretty pleased with our performance. It would normally be enough for three points, but I’m pleased with our spirit and the comeback attitude.”

Baggies boss Carlos Corberan spent three years as U23s coach at the club.

But hopes of a happy return to the club were dashed by Ayling’s equaliser.

He reflected: “I think it was a fair result. But we didn’t use our attacking advantages as well as we could have.

“We put pressure on them, but we conceded chances with our mistakes which gave Leeds the mentality that they could hurt us.

“We scored the goal early in the second half and that made us more focused to defend the result.

“I liked how the team’s intensity didn’t decrease after we conceded the goal. We stayed concentrated and we reacted enough and didn’t allow them to keep that momentum and attack us.

“I liked the reaction from the team, I liked the way we showed our personality early in the second half.

“But it is true that we need to avoid the mistakes and to take advantage when we’re attacking to harm the opponent.

“I don’t want to review the actions which may have been complicated for the referees.

“Maybe after we scored the goal we were too focused on defending and maybe we should have been more aggressive. That’s the only thing that maybe I will review and tell my team in terms of managing the game better.”