Leeds United tumble out of FA Cup after defeat by non-league Histon
http://tinyurl.com/6duc37
01 December 2008
By Chris Warers
GARY McALLISTER last night insisted he is still the right man to take
Leeds United forward following the club's humiliating exit against
Histon – their first FA Cup loss to non-League opponents.
Leeds were bundled out yesterday following an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at
the Glass World Stadium, where postman Matthew Langston headed the
winning goal for the Blue Square Premier Division's second-placed side.
The result will raise questions about Leeds, who have dropped out of the
League One promotion positions following an indifferent run of results.
But during a post-match press conference which he curtailed in under
three minutes, as he struggled to comprehend one of the most
embarrassing results in the club's history, McAllister said he was still
the right man for the manager's job.
"I think that I've taken this club and started to push it in the right
direction," said McAllister. "It's not my decision, but I feel as if I'm
the guy who can get this club into the Championship."
Asked for his reaction to the defeat, McAllister responded: "What do you
think my reaction is? That's a leading question.
"It was absolutely not good. The thing is, I know how important this is,
and I sometimes wonder if they (the players) know the importance of this
result today.
"It was one of our biggest upsets. We are a third division team and,
today at times, we looked like a third division team.
"I just felt we were a wee bit sloppy. Some of our passing was very
sloppy and untidy. I've banged on about this for a long time now.
Everybody's had a chance and, just at crucial times today, our
decision-making was poor."
McAllister denied his team were out-battled in atrocious conditions in
Cambridgeshire, with heavy rain leaving surface water on the pitch and
scuppering Leeds's attempts to produce flowing football.
"I don't think we were out-fought," said McAllister. "There's no way you
can throw that at the Leeds United players.
"We worked our socks off. The effort was there and the players battled
away; I just felt that at the moments we needed that bit of quality,
that bit of class, we didn't quite produce it.
"All I can do is wish Histon all the best."
Histon's reward for the greatest result in their history was a
third-round tie at home to Championship club Swansea.
When the draw was announced on television, a loud groan erupted from the
Histon changing room, although manager Steve Fallon insisted the
non-League side will fancy their chances of getting into round four.
"To be honest, I just wanted us to get a home draw," said Fallon, who
presides over the side in tandem with club coach John Beck. "That's all
I was bothered about – getting another game at the Glass World Stadium –
and, hopefully, there'll be another big crowd cheering us on.
"Swansea will be a difficult challenge but I think we've got good reason
to go into that game with plenty of confidence.
"If Leeds played Swansea tomorrow, you'd probably back Leeds to beat
Swansea, so there's no reason why we can't get ourselves into round four
– particularly if we play as well as we did against Leeds."
Fallon said his team deserved to win against a Leeds outfit who were
made to look decidedly ordinary.
"I thought we deserved to win against a very big team," he added. "Both
defensively and attacking-wise, I thought we played magnificently well,
the players put their bodies on the line and it was an outstanding
victory. You get your rewards if you work really hard and that's what
happened to us today. I couldn't have asked for any more from the
players because they gave it their all."
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is Michel Kitabdjian dead yet?
