Omens of the lucky kind have been in short supply during much of this campaign for Leeds United, but a trip to West Ham United may at least revive one. Retracing the final May steps towards safety last year should generate some good feelings and reliable muscle memory, but United’s positive reflections of the London Stadium could be a factor this weekend.
Far from the sun-kissed May weather we may see on Sunday, it was a freezing mid-January afternoon when the Whites visited Stratford last season. They made the trip twice, in fact, on consecutive weekends.
There was a drab, all-Premier League FA Cup tie which the Hammers won before a seven-day turnaround which saw Jack Harrison deliver possibly his finest hour in Leeds colours. In what proved to be Marcelo Bielsa’s last victory as head coach, Harrison delivered a hat-trick which put United ahead on three occasions.
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West Ham went into the game on the back of three consecutive league victories and a league position of fourth with a little less than half of the campaign to play. Leeds were 16th at kick-off and came away with a priceless three points.
United would go on to lose five of the next six games and see Bielsa sacked. The West Ham trip remains one of the few great results achieved last season, but especially for Harrison, who could do with channelling such influence again this weekend.
After coming out of the January transfer window and the mess which surrounded him on deadline day, Harrison was understandably off-colour with his Leeds performances. Javi Gracia’s arrival seemed to burn away some of the fog and we saw three goals in four games across those vital points taken from Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest.
The goals have dried up since then and after being taken off by Sam Allardyce around the 65th-minute mark in each of his games, the winger could be under pressure for his start this weekend. Wilfried Gnonto had to make way for Rodrigo last weekend and could be fighting for Harrison’s shirt on Sunday.
There’s also the presence of Crysencio Summerville to consider and Georginio Rutter, who finally scored his first goal in Leeds colours with the under-21s on Monday. The smart money though, has to be on the relative experience of Harrison, given how Allardyce has made his selections up to now.
The former Manchester City winger has raced to 204 appearances for Leeds since that 2018 arrival in the same summer as Bielsa. Across all of those games, there is that one, unforgettable hat-trick.
Harrison’s third finish, a composed chip over an advancing Lukasz Fabianski, after an instinctive sprint into space, summed up the confidence and swagger he was playing with in the capital. It was the perfect example of the potential Harrison has and why so many clubs have circled him in recent transfer windows despite his inconsistent form with Leeds.
Leeds, desperate for three points to keep their relegation fight alive, could do with their prized winger finding something like his mercurial best in the same place once again.
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