Let's get two things straight before everything else - we absolutely mullered Luton, hit the bar 3 times and had one cleared off the line in the first 40 minutes - secondly Luton were fucking dreadful and will go down. DW is like the little cabin boy on the Titanic: Charged with salvaging as much as he can, he is trying to rope together a few bits of driftwood, the odd barrel or two and any other rag-tag bit of planking that floats face up in these stormy waters. You never know he might just do it. We lined up with a pleasingly mobile looking team - Johnson, Carole, Blake, Cresswell, Kishichev, Douglas in midfield and upfront - added to which there was the possibility of overlaps from Lewis and Richardson. Most of these guys are pretty small and some of 'em are quite nippy. So for once we played football, strung passes together and moved into space to support and to provide the opportunity for balls to be played in behind a pretty ropey Luton defence (including one Clark Carlisle - who was pretty bad). Kishishev was at the heart of everything that we did that was good - exemplary use of the ball, always available for team-mates, got some tackles in and even made a couple of last ditch interceptions back in the box. One of the first effects of having him play like he does is that he gets us looking up and forwards and has defenders on the half turn for fear of the little clipped ball over the full-back's head, or the ball slotted down the channel between CHalf and FBack - the second effect has been to lift the weight of being the only "creator" in the team off of Blake's shoulders. Blake still dwells too much sometimes and still has to beat the same guy 3 times, but sometimes he is free to be more direct and make runs into the box with a reasonable expectation that he will get the ball. Johnson also had a cracking game. He is quick, has decent control and a good eye for laying off little balls for team-mates coming through. He also harries and ruffles defenders making their life really uneasy - whisper it, but it was like watching a young Alan Smith...I hope that we can keep him til the end of the season and that he keeps up this form. Having said that many of our team were on the small side we did also have the two biggest outfield players in Heath and the new geezer (Michelin or something) - who is very tall. So we caused Luton loads of problems from dead balls. Before we'd started to find the target we'd already seen crosses bounce in the box with mayhem all over the shop as far as the Luton defence was concerned. Following another corner - a proper one into the box, not one of those stupid rinky-dink little short ball ones that never achieved anything but Blake insisted on keeping on with all match, even though we were murdering them when it was pitched high into the 6 yard box - the ball was bundled out to Kishichev on the edge who hit a peach of a volley towards the far post only for a well placed defender to head it off the line. Shortly after, a corner from the right swung in and a load of bodies went up for it - I think Heath got there and headed it against the bar, from the rebound an unmarked Douglas managed to head it back against the bar from 4 yards - scoring really would have been the easier option - and from that rebound Heath spooned a left foot shot over the bar from 6 yards. We spent most of this half in and around the Luton box. I don't think they had a real shot. It began to feel like Sheff Wed all over again. Towards the end of the half Blake was tripped about 25 yards from goal to the left of centre as Leeds looked at it. After a bit of fannying about with the wall - it was a really fussy ref today - Blake curled it up and over the wall and it thundered against the bar - but our bad luck didn't stop there - because the ball cannoned back off the bar onto the back of the arms of the diving keeper - now ordinarily this would result in one of those hilarious own goals - but no, it bounced off his arms and appeared to hit the post before finally rebounding back into play. I ask you! So a highly unjustified 0-0 at half time. The game restarted and it was simply more of the same. Its hard to say if Luton had come for the draw or if we actually forced them back. Johnson, Carole, Kishishev and Blake were still all linking well and getting behind the defence. Two or three moves during the game, which resulted in efforts on goal, were easily some of our best of the season. Then finally on 50 minutes the ball was played in low to the top of the penalty box, Johnson with his back to goal, flicked it first time around the corner to Cresswell who took it with his back to goal, performed a Cruyff turn - just for you RobH - took another touch before hitting a fairly soft shot low across the goal to the back post - the keeper got a faint touch but couldn't keep it out. Shortly thereafter Cresswell at the front post with the ball at his feet, performed a carbon copy turn and fatally leaned back before lifting the ball high and wide from 6 yards out, with everyone beaten. We still pressed for another 15 minutes or so before we began to get forced back. Don't know if Luton upped the pressure or if we took the foot of the gas...some of our better players certainly looked to tire. Whatever the cause we gradually moved further and further back. We didn't so much get the jitters as just get tired in body and mind. There was one frantic scramble with several players making last ditch blocks. They missed with a flying free header from 6 yards. Then, inneviatbly, they were awarded a penalty after Heath bundled a forward over in the 87th minute. There weren't many protests. The forward hit it straight down the middle on the floor, Caspar dived to his right and stopped it with his knees before falling on it and grabbing it. Leeds players flew into the box, fists clenched, jumping all over the keeper. We spent the last five minutes or so making 3 substitutions as slowly as possible. I don't want to tempt fate but that penalty save has the feeling of a turning point written large all over it. ANKERGREN - in truth not much to do - a few decent saves as the game went on - a couple of flaps at high balls - decent distribution, looking to roll it to feet - but that penalty save... RICHARDSON - mediocre - some dreadful distribution - but some good overlapping and a couple of good crosses - sometimes woefully out of position - wrong side of his man etc - and then a couple of goal saving blocks. HEATH - still think this guy is a lump in a football shirt - but he restricted himself to doing the simple stuff MICHALIK - even bigger than Heath - won loads in the air - slowish on the ground, but made up for the pace by stretching long legs to get the sliding tackle in before the forward got clean away - just played it simple with the ball at his feet. LEWIS - a quietly effective game. CAROLE - fast, tricky, went inside and outside at pace, some decent crosses - should have done better with a dreadful effort at the back post - but well worth his place DOUGLAS - Capt again - lots of huff and puff - good ground covered - attempted some over ambitious passes but generally did the right thing - that is, win the ball and give it to Kishishev - really should have scored with that header KISHISHEV - MOTM - belting game - breath of fresh to watch a midfielder in a Leeds shirt, want the ball, move into space to get the ball and then bloody well do something good with it when he gets it - and if he can't make the killer pass then he will make sure we keep the ball. BLAKE - a good if slightly less prominent game than recently - very unlucky with the free kick - needs to knock those shit short corners on the head though - still has a tendency to play hospital balls every now and then. JOHNSON - excellent game - deserved a goal - chased and battled - won balls he had no right to win and was generally a pain in the arse - good sensible lay offs as well CRESSWELL - would have been the least noticed of the forward players had it not been for the well taken goal (and the one that got away) - good effort. ------------- Subs Sa, Healy and Moore - were just time wasting devices and weren't really on long enough to get in the game. --------------- Home win felt great. Now if someone can post Bates column cos I didn't see it and I heard that there was a couple of lines "blacked out" by a felt-tip pen...? That must been a hell of a job - hope they gave it to Nicholls. 27 000 - pretty noisy crowd - but still many seats left in the E & W stands.
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