Well we finished on a high - with an excellent second half performance but whether that is enough for McD or the out of contract players to keep their jobs, who knows
We began this game as we have so many this season, with no passion, no commitment and no idea and could easily have been 3 down in the first half hour. Within the first minutes Austin (playing right wing !) let his man run past him without tracking back and a ball which split the rest of our 'defence' found him inside the box and only a top class save from Butland stopped it being 1 -0. However the Derby fans did not have long to wait for their opener, this time Murphy decided to stand with his arm in the air in a failed plea for offside as the Derby striker went past him and got onto a lovely chipped ball, again Butland saved well at the blokes feet but it fell to the striker to have another go , which Butland blocked again and whilst our defence looked on helpless and hapless, 2 Derby strikers decided to help their man and one bundled it over the line. Butland was not a happy man. Later on another move split us wide open and we were saved only because the lad chose to shoot from a bad angle rather than pull it across to his unmarked colleague who would have had an open goal. Our best player first half was Micheal Brown and that sums it all up - he even came closest to scoring with a rasping long range drive. The only bright point was the fact that as in the last couple of games Smith and McCormack have started to look like a partnership rather than 2 players who had never met. Smith was looking to direct his flick-ons and lay-offs to Ross, and Ross was looking to get on the end of Smiths headers. Smith did come close with a couple of headers, one of which was turned over the bar as we came into the game in the last 15mins. We also had a penalty shout turned down for a possible handball Second half Murphy went off and White (his last game in a Leeds shirt?) came on as a right winger in a bit of a re-shuffle and he made an impact. Looking Huckerby-esque as he ran around quickly with his head down, things did happen around him. His extra energy also seemed to lift the rest of the team and the majority of the 29+thousand crowd. We roared them on and they responded in a performance which if replicted the rest of the season, would have us in the play offs at a minimum! This new attitude soon paid off as Ross flicked the ball and himself over the lunging Derby player on the ground and he put a lovely ball through the Derby defence, Smith read it well and made a good run, he controlled the ball and as we all expected him to blast it wide or mess it up it some other way he lifted a sublime little chip over the keeper, a great finish from someone who gets a lot of stick for his work on the floor. After that it was all Leeds, although they had us worried with every sporadic attack they made. Smith headed wide, Ross had 2 free kicks well saved as he tried his best to get his 30th. We should definitely had at least one penalty as Tonge was shoved as he prepared to get on the end of a ball into the 6 yard box. Smith also got a nudge in the back when well placed. Lees showed how long his thinking time is as a ball beat everyone and came to him at the far post - a striker would have scored. Pugh (in his last appearance for us) could have left a hero but his header went wide when he should have scored So a very disappointing season came to an end. I said at the start that I did not expect promotion or even a play off place but I did want us to spend the whole season thinking that the play-offs were a possibilty but this was only the case up to the New Year.Even when results were going well early on we never looked a good team. So out with the old and in with the new - the team (and management) that starts next season is likely to have little in common with the one who started this season. I cannot be bothered doing an end of season report but a quick summation would be: Ross , a great season , can he be this prolific again ? Pearce, tried his best every game, limited as a player but largely free from criticism: Smith - a real find and will be even more effective next year hopefully with better service but will he affect the way we play too much and make us predictable . The rest - hang your heads in shame, for every game you did well , there were 3 or 4 when you were awful - don't care if you leave ! Forza Leeds - let's hope Massimo is as good in reality as he is in his own mind !! Here's to next season Dave _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] John 'Grampa' Sykes Rest In Peace old lad 28th Oct 1938 - 12 Nov 2013 MARCHING ON TOGETHER
