Leeds United 1 Freedman 90 Carlisle 2 Graham 32, Bridge-Wilkinson 50 Jeremy Cross at Elland Road The Guardian, Tuesday May 13 2008 Article historyAbout this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday May 13 2008 on p5 of the Sport news & features section. It was last updated at 01:35 on May 13 2008. Gary McAllister backed his Leeds players to come from behind at Brunton Park on Thursday and maintain their dream of a quick return to the Championship, despite his side's shock home defeat to Carlisle in last night's first leg.
Goals from Danny Graham and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson handed the Cumbrians the advantage, even though Dougie Freedman's stoppage-time effort gives Leeds hope. "That keeps us in the tie, although I think at 2-0 we were still capable of going up there and getting a result," McAllister said. "I've a feeling this tie will go right down to the final minute. I've got to applaud the effort of my players and the way they kept going. We had some good possession but the end-product wasn't quite there. Carlisle played well and deserved their victory, but it's still game on." John Ward's side refused to be intimidated by a crowd of more than 36,000 and having threatened to take the lead in the seventh minute, when Bridge-Wilkinson struck an upright, they eventually did so in the 32nd. A poor clearance from Leeds allowed Simon Hackney to charge on to the loose ball and unleash a powerful volley which deflected past Casper Ankergren off Graham's backside. The home side's evening went from bad to worse five minutes after the interval when Carlisle doubled their advantage, Bridge-Wilkinson sweeping home Evan Horwood's cross to leave McAllister's men with a mountain to climb. The first step was taken in the sixth minute of injury-time when a goalmouth scramble culminated in Freedman bundling the ball home from close range. "I'm delighted with the way the game has gone," Ward said afterwards. "To score twice and have a goal start in the return leg is fantastic, but it's far from finished. We have a lot to do still." _______________________________________________ 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 "I am sure with a few pints my morphine patches and a few other tablets I will manage" Dave Nattan May 2008
