Ok - i'll try to do a fuller report after last nights effort from the bus when my hands were too cold to type much.
First the 2 highlights of the day. Next door to Cheltenham's ground is a park. At 2pm a game kicked off between a team in red and a team in yellow, who were surprised to find they suddenly had a few hundred Leeds fans cheering on their every touch. When they scored there was a pitch invasion. Very funny. When Becchio scored the lad behind me said "I wonder if Maradona is here" - well it made me laugh, Whaddon Road is not quite the "La Bombonera" Same team as Southend. We started very well moving the ball well and creating overlaps so it was no surprise when Kilkenny fed Richardson to cross for Becchio to nod home. For 25 minutes we were in total control, Frazer had loads of space and made good use of it, the midfield clicked and Delph, Howson and Kilkenny interchanged well. Not too many clear chances but plenty of good shooting opportunities from the edge of the box (and we can hit a ball) and it looked a matter of time before the next goal came. Cheltenham were reduced to some heavy late challenges in midfield as they chased shadows but the ref did little about it and gradually we lost confidence and let Cheltenham get back into it, as the game got scrappy towards half-time. Second half didnt start much better and as Cheltenham started to get into our half, Casper was forced to make a point blank save similar to the one against Walsall. Macca tried to change it by bringing on the Weeble for Howson. Unfortunately they obviously dont trust Robinson to defend as an orthodox left sided player so this necessitated us going 4-3-3 with Beckford heading out to the right wing. It got worse and we had a dodgy spell for about 20 minutes where we just could not hold onto the ball. However, the defence didn't give up too many clear chances and when Prutton came onto replace Kilkenny we started to look more dangerous on the break. Douglas put Beckford clean through but he hit a dreadful shot over the bar, Robinson cut in from the left and curled one just wide and right at the end Becchio wriggled through the defence before his shot was half saved by the keeper and trickled wide. However, Cheltenham had a fair amount of ball during this period and we were indebted to Prutton managing to steer a dangerous cross over his own bar when an own goal looked likely. Cheltenham are crap but we were glad when the final whistle went - not great ! Although i'll gladly take the points, we do seem to have lost our way at bit at the moment. Scores Casper 7 - Looked more secure than Tuesday - Ie He didn't keep dropping crosses. Richardson 7 - Started very well going forward and did his defensive job ok. Parker 6 - Also better than Tuesday but looks knackered and slow even ten minutes in. Michalik / Telfer 6 - A clean sheet so cant complain but not really convincing yet. Howson 6 - Nominally playing on the right, started well but disappeared. Douglas 7.5 - Joined in well with the early need passing and made a nuisance of himself when they threatened. Delph 6 - On Tuesday i thought he was unlucky to get subbed when we needed a goal, in hindsight he should have been subbed yesterday. Some nice touches and runs and works hard but gave the ball away carelessly more than once. Kilkenny 7 - Looks much better when played more centrally. Beckford 5 - Not too sulky today but mark off for a poor miss and shifting him out wide doesn't help his confidence which looks fragile at the moment. Becchio 8 - Easily our best player, battled all game and often our only outlet or hope of goal. Subs Robbo 6 - I think he's getting rounder, good with ball, passenger without it. Prutton 7 - Seemed to help tighten things up Snodgrass 6 - Not on long enough to make much difference Matt _______________________________________________ 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 is Michel Kitabdjian dead yet?
