Luke Ayling faced a difficult question as his Middlesbrough side prepared to host parent club Leeds United. Having spent eight years at Leeds before joining Boro on loan in January, Ayling was ineligible to play in the crucial Championship clash.
Ahead of kickoff, Ayling was interviewed by Sky Sports and asked for his score prediction and who he thought would emerge victorious. The defender diplomatically replied: “I want football to win. I love football and if I’m totally honest I really can’t call it.
“Like I said I haven’t seen Leeds a lot lately but I’ve seen these boys on the training pitch and how we’ve played the last 9-10 games.”
Ayling expressed confidence in Middlesbrough’s ability to put in a strong performance. “I’m really confident the boys can put in a good shift today. Who knows but I’m just hoping for a good game of football.”
Boro got off to a promising start, taking an early lead through Isaiah Jones in the seventh minute. However, Leeds roared back with two goals in four minutes to take the advantage. Emmanuel Latte Lath equalized for Boro, but Wilfried Gnonto restored Leeds’ lead before halftime.
Leeds’ promotion hopes remain alive, although they need Ipswich Town to drop points in their remaining three matches to secure automatic promotion. The victory over Middlesbrough marked a significant turnaround for Leeds after their relegation from the Premier League last season.
