Leeds' adaptability in Brentford draw thrills Farke

Daniel Farke lauded Leeds United's adaptability after they recovered from a poor first half to secure a 1-1 draw against Brentford at Elland Road.

Leeds struggled to cope with Brentford in the opening period on Sunday and were fortunate they only went into half-time down 1-0 after Kevin Schade's delightful finish gave the Bees a deserved lead.

Farke switched to a 4-3-3 for the second half and then changed his shape again when he sent on Daniel James and Lukas Nmecha, with the latter going on to provide the assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin's equaliser in the 79th minute.

"It was definitely a good point. Brentford are in red-hot form and deserved to be in the lead," Farke told his post-match news conference.

"I asked a lot in the second half because the changed the base formation. Then we changed again and found a way to equalise and perhaps push for a winner.

"It would perhaps have been a bit too much to win because Brentford were very good – they are second to none in long balls.

"It was important to be brave and change. We prepare on the training pitch but to be adaptable and find the solution is outstanding. And to show that mental resilience. I'm very happy.

"It was crucial to have another physical player in Nmecha – 80% of the goal was him. James was great, just didn't have the end product.

"We needed to find a good balance. It's not a topic that we change too often. We have to train build-up and how to sit deep. It's very complicated."

Brentford had 62.4% of possession, 11 shots and 26 touches in the opposition box in the first half, but they were unable to hold off after Farke's tweaks.

Still, Keith Andrews was pleased with their performance and felt it showed the significant growth in his team since their previous visit to Elland Road.

"We played here in March just before the international break and it was 0-0. It was a completely different game – the way we had to approach it was pragmatic," Andrews told Sky Sports.

"Today, it's a different mindset to what we have as a group and how we've started the season – it's been built on what we did last season and you could see that in the first half.

"And you've got to defend really well and respect what comes your way and I think we did that, we restricted them to very few opportunities, we just couldn't quite play our way out of trouble on occasions when they were committing so many bodies forward.

"I just really like us at the moment. I think we're in a really good place that's come from nothing but hard work and a spirit about the group that wants to strive to achieve something. We're very tight-knit and have a really impressive work ethic, and we've got serious ability within the squad."