
Isaac Schmidt saw his name in a Leeds United starting eleven for the first time on Saturday night. Harrogate Town were the visitors at Elland Road for the FA Cup fourth-round tie and Daniel Farke made use of the opportunity to heavily rotate his team. Leeds progressed in the competition through a 1-0 win and while not every fringe player performed well, Isaac Schmidt was one of those who grabbed the opportunity with both sides. A left-back by trade, he played as a right-back and was defensively secure against the League Two side. The Swiss made a case to get more opportunities to start and Farke noticed.
Schmidt joined Leeds in the dying embers of the last summer transfer window and was seen as Junior Firpo’s cover at left-back in Farke’s squad.
However, he has played a grand total of 25 minutes of Championship football across eight substitute appearances and has been little more than a fringe player this season.
Even when Junior Firpo got injured last month, Farke chose to play Sam Byram and Max Wober in that position over Schmidt and he has struggled to gain prominence this season.
There are now serious question marks about the Leeds recruitment’s decision to sign him if the manager was not going to use him as a serious option in the squad.
However, Schmidt got his opportunity against Harrogate and did enough to suggest that Farke could trust him with more game time and starts in the latter half of the season.
Isaac Schmidt looked secure and assured in the starting eleven
It would not have been a massive shock if the Swiss defender looked a bit nervous as it was his first chance to start a game for Leeds since joining last summer.
He had waited a long time for this opportunity and some nerves would have been natural given how important this chance was for Isaac Schmidt.
However, even if he was nervous, the Swiss showed little on the outside and seamlessly played at right-back, which is not his natural position.
Unlike Josua Guilavogui, who was also starting his first game for Leeds, Schmidt was assured, looked secure in defence and took the opportunity to attack down the right-hand side when needed.
He was solid and steady in defence and allowed little joy to the Harrogate Town left winger to create opportunities from his side of the pitch.
The Swiss defender didn’t look as accomplished in attack but we need to remember, that a lack of game time meant he lacked that little bit of sharpness in the final third.
However, defensively he looked solid and dealt with everything thrown at him. He earned the appreciation of the fans with his performance at Elland Road.
Farke will go back to his first-choice defence next weekend when Sheffield Wednesday come to Elland Road for the Yorkshire derby in the Championship.
But Schmidt did enough on Sunday to ensure that he will be in Farke’s thoughts in the coming weeks if and when he feels the need to rotate his squad.
However, Junior Firpo’s return is bad news for the Swiss
While Schmidt impressed with his performance at Elland Road, Firpo made a cameo appearance against Harrogate Town after recovering from a hamstring injury.
He suffered a hamstring problem last month and was out for several weeks as Farke played Byram and Wober at left-back in his absence.
Firpo is not expected to return to the starting eleven next weekend but he is not too far away from getting back into the team as he is the first-choice left-back for Leeds.
His return is fantastic news for Leeds but for Schmidt, it is not a great development as if he wants to play left-back, it would be an uphill task to get ahead of Firpo in the pecking order.
He impressed at right-back on Saturday evening but Farke has always picked Jayden Bogle when he has been fit and he is probably the best in the Championship in his position.
While Saturday evening was a positive for the Swiss, an elusive start in the league could still be difficult to get given the options in the Leeds squad.
