Great stuff! Elland Road hasn't rocked like that for years. As the song goes, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone", and we all know we came very close to losing the club this summer; so I suppose there's a renewed sense of puropse among the fans. That's coupled with a squad of players that clearly give a shit. They may not be the most gifted players on the planet, but they're dedicated to the cause. How many times have we, as fans, said that we would play for Leeds for nothing? Well, we should remember that this lot did that this summer, some of them not knowing for certain they would get a contract.
Over 24,000 were there (as Dr Mike says the second highest crowd in all three leagues) and the kick off was delayed so they could all buy tickets. It was obviously difficult for the club to sell tickets before the game as they can still only accept cash and cheques. I assume this is either HMRC or Melvyn Levi's fault. The queue from the West stand ticket office ran the length of the ground and along the back of the kop [YouTube clip: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3IOYTcJnm9o ] and according to my mate the queue from the east stand ticket office was just as long. The delay probably helped the atmosphere with "We Are Leeds" and "MOT" ringing out for the 15 minutes before kick off. We were rewarded for this only a couple of minutes after kick off when Alan Tompson scored one of the best free kicks I have ever seen in my life. Ironic that I had to watch Leeds in Div 3 to see it! Beckford was fouled 25-30 yards out in our inside right channel. My mate said it was a long way out, but the keeper left a lot of room to his left. Tommo hit a beautiful, flat, curling free kick just over the wall and just inside the post. Sublime! [YouTube clips (not the best quality, I'm afraid) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2BuxJ0QtP3g&mode http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jV231NmGYsk&mode ] That kept the atmosphere going! To their credit, Southend really came at us, trying to close us down as much as they could, just like Tranmere did last week. We struggled to cope with that, although we coped better than last week. There was still some very direct passing, but at least this time it was clearly aiming for Kandol and we manged to get the ball down and pass it too. Southend came very close to scoring after about ten minutes. Their relentless pressing saw Tommo caught out on the edge of our box trying a cheeky Cruyff turn. He lost the ball and their lad smacked atremendous shot against the inside of the far post. Casper had no chance and I still can't believe it didn't go in. The rest of the first half was fairly even, but we had the better chances, including Beckford being through one on one but screwing his volley wide (should have scored) and a Heath header into the top corner that their keeper just manged to tip over (a good save). Two things about being in this division. Firstly the players are generally much worse than we are used to. This means that situations arise where an attackers in spac and you expect him to score, but because he's crap he doesn't. Secondly the referees are even worse than last year. Today he let a lot of nasty tackles go without bookings and never really had control of the game. Exciting stuff to watch, but ut means we lost Westlake and Hughes to injury. The foul on Westlake was very, very late but no card. Beckford was repeatedly kicked up in the air and no cards were given and Kandol was pushed and jumped into by two men every time he went for a header, the one time he did the same back he got booked. Southend started the second half stronger than us and were playing with more width than they had been, which caused us problems. The goal came from their left where we left Gower (their best player) unmarked and he put a cross in. Casper made a great save from the initial shot, but they scored from the rebound [YouTube clip: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLED8My8Lo ]. Before that though, we had a couple of good chances. One was another Thompson free kick, identical set up to Heath's goal last week. The players made exactly the same runs, but Tommo tried to curl it into the near bottom corner and the keeper got down well to save. Kandol had a far post header from a Carole cross, he put it wide, but it was a harder chance than the header he missed last week and definitely harder than the first half chance Beckford missed. Despite the equaliser, heads stayed up, and we started to play our best football of the match. Carole came more and more into the game and as he grew in confidence, his pace and willingness to run at people caused real problems for Southend. Prutton had a looping header from a tight angle tipped over the bar. The second goal came from him running down the right and crossing for Kandol to knock the ball back across goal for Flo (with about his only touch of the game) to volley home. Pandemonium in the kop. We were still celebrating when Carole got the ball on the left and played in a near post cross that Rui flicked backwards, over the keeper and into the far corner. Southend were totally finished and when Kandol looped aball over the top for Beckford to run onto his smooth, low finish from 12 yards seemed totally routine. This division is a battle as much as anything. Thompson's quality is head and shoulders above the rest, but most of the time the strongest, fittest team will win. This is good for us. It's not a coincidence that our winning goals have come so late in the last two games. Both Tranmere and Southend tried to play a high tempo game, but couldn't keep it up for 90 minutes, whereas at full time we still look like we have plenty of running left in us. Wise's pre-season regime is obviously paying dividends. Our team spirit looks excellent also, and there are no passengers in this side. Scores on the doors Casper: 7 - a tidy game, no chance with the goal and only a couple of wayward kicks Richardson: 6 - I'm still not sure he'll fulfill the potential we thought he had. Both the goals we've conceded so far this season have come from crosses from out right. Hughes: 6 - Determined, willing, limited. However, he was a right footed player playing at LB and he did OK. I think his versatility will be very important to us this season. Heath: 6 - Looked more solid than he did against Tranmere. Some sliced clearances. Marques: 8 - Scored, look assured. Prutton: 6 - gave away a lot of possession, but looked promising Thompson: 9 (& MOTM) - I was a but undewhelmed by him last week, but today he ran the show. Douglas: 7 - Same old, same old. Westlake: 7 - The best game I've seen him have for Leeds. Typical he got injured as we might have been about to see something of the player we expected when he first signed. Kandol: 8 - He's limited, but he's strong, good in the air, brave and totally commited. Like Chapman but two divisions worse! There was none of the lazyness we saw last season and he set up 2 of the goals. They had to double mark him and he still won the majority of his headers. He got (accidentally) laid out by their keeper as he punched the ball clear, but the ref kept play going. Disgraceful refereeing. Beckford: 8 - Looks really pacey and tricky. That goal should be the first of many. Could have put Carole through 1 on 1 at one point but didn't have his head up to see the run. SUBS Carole (for Westlake just before half time): 8 - Southend really couldn't cope with him and he was instrumental in two of the goals Parker (For Hughes): 7 - Looked very composed. Didn't misplace a pass at all and I'd be happy to see him start. Flo (for Prutton): 7 - scored. Wise seems to want to play him just behined the front two strikers. Crowd: 10 - from row T, N10 I didn't hear anthing but total support for Leeds (and one very brief Munich chant - if they hate Man U so much and they're such hard men why don't they go to Old Trafford to sing that?). I still wore my "Love Leeds - Hate Bates" shirt though :) Wise: 8 - I'm amazed at what he's achieved this summer. Our squad is fit, determined and has great spirit. I was gutted when he was appointed, but through his actions alone (not bluster, broken promises, propaganda and lies) he's made me a total convert. WISE IN!! I'll keep an eye out for better you tube clips, but it might be worth people subscribing to this guy: http://uk.youtube.com/user/LeedsVideos I have a ticket for Forest, but will be staying there overnight so the missus can catch up with an old Uni mate and it's also my birthday that weekend, so any report might be a bit late. _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist Join The Leeds United Supporters Trust at www.lufctrust.org
