Relief for Daniel Farke as Brenden Aaronson and Dan James finally give Leeds the lead with a 2-0 Yorkshire derby win over Sheffield Wednesday

Daniel Farke let his players soak up the applause of the exuberant Leeds United fans at the final whistle before taking centre stage himself.

The Germans’ usual victory wave celebrations have been in short supply for some time now.

A terrible end to last season saw the Whites’ hopes of automatic promotion dashed, losing to Southampton in the Championship play-off final.

A winless start to the current campaign and seeing their best three players sold this summer added to the sense of despair and gloom around Elland Road. But on Friday night Leeds finally showed some welcome signs of their old selves as they won comfortably in this Yorkshire derby.

As over 4,000 fans sang along to the club anthem Marching on Together with almost religious fervour, Farke patiently watched his players absorb the cheers before stepping forward and waving his arms three times to symbolise victory.

Leeds won for the first time this season after beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 on Friday evening

After the match, Leeds manager Daniel Farke waved to the travelling Leeds fans at Hillsborough

Goals either side of half-time from the rejuvenated Brenden Aaronson and Dan James were the least Leeds deserved for their superiority. After only a fourth win in their last 15 games in all competitions, Farke could not hide his delight.

The Leeds manager said: “It was definitely our best performance of the season and the next step forward. Of his celebrations, Farke added: “Normally I leave the spotlight to the players, but that’s a habit from my time at Norwich and the Leeds fans know that, so it’s good to give my appreciation to them.

“If they put me up to this, I can’t say no! We’ve had a tough time the last two weeks with the outgoings and all the rumours. But this was pretty much the perfect away game – we were brave and dominant.

‘We all know how emotional this club is – it’s Leeds United.’

The defeat to Southampton at Wembley led to Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter being sold to Tottenham, West Ham and Brighton respectively for a combined fee of over £100million.

New signings are few and far between, but former Manchester United winger Largie Ramazani arrived this week from La Liga side UD Almeria for an undisclosed fee, with more new faces expected before the transfer window closes.

Ramazani will make his debut next Saturday in the home game against Hull, a match that Leeds will look forward to with renewed confidence.

There is still plenty of talent within the Whites’ ranks and Aaronson certainly falls into that category, having spent the last term on loan at Bundesliga side Union Berlin before returning in the summer with a point to prove.

After securing a point in the 3-3 opening day draw against Portsmouth with his late equaliser, the American striker showed his class again on Friday night.

Brenden Aaronson (left) opened the scoring with his second goal of the season in the 24th minute

Dan James then put Leeds on the scoresheet early in the second half with a chipped finish

The 23-year-old, deployed as a number 10, fired home a clinical opening goal in the 24th minute and it was a moment to remember for Leeds’ forgotten man.

Wednesday were peppering Leeds with high balls but were stuck. Aaronson was involved in a great break, with Willy Gnonto playing Mateo Joseph, and the ball fell kindly to Aaronson.

He recovered and showed great composure as he slotted the ball home from 11 yards with his left foot.

James just failed to convert a cross from Junior Firpo just before half-time, but three minutes after the break he made no mistake.

Joseph produced a superb pass, allowing the Welsh winger to run quickly past the Owls defence and he deftly lifted the ball over goalkeeper James Beadle.

That led to wild scenes among the travelling supporters and Leeds never looked back after that. The impressive Joseph was robbed of a deserved third place by Beadle.

Owls boss Danny Rohl admitted: ‘Against Leeds you have to do a lot of things right and maybe you need a bit of luck — but their second goal was too easy. It’s hard to take anything when the opposition are so strong. Overall they controlled the game.’