Not much to add to what Dave has written. A weird / silly game. At the time of the sending off i was more worried that Naylor might get sent off for instigating the bunch of handbags after Snoddy's tangle. Naylor was later booked and very lucky not to get sent off at the start of the 2nd half. (Ref had one of those reach for a card and remembered he's already booked him moments). Dickinson started well (looks strong and quick) but then got a bit lost in the spell when we were just passing the ball around waiting for openings (not a thinker) and disappeared completely second half. Match fitness i guess. Snoddy was clear Man of the Match. Becchio and Grella both should have scored when clean through late on - and spared us a few nerves. Delph had one great Brighton type run - but looked tired - often deciding not to take on the last man. Matt
--- On Sun, 22/3/09, DAVID NATTAN <[email protected]> wrote: Well the unbeaten run goes on and this time with our first away win in for ages - so 3 more valuable points in what was a very strange game in many ways. As expected it was business as usual with the team selection with Dickinson in to replace the suspended Beckford. The question beforehand was can we cope without him ? Well the answer was an empahtic(ish) yes, as a 3 goal in 6 minutes blitz ended the game on the half hour mark. The game had started OK with us looking the brighter team and Dickinson had decent attempt and Snoddy casuing them problems, then came what may have been the turning point and for once strange officiationg went our way. Snoddy and one of their players were running for the same ball, Snoddy seemed to pull him back a bit and he then tripped Snoddy up , a bit of a melee ensued and ended with a undeserved free kick to us (should have been theirs) and then a red card was brandished to the Crewe player, presuambly for something he said (see it is not just Beckford !!). We then all discussed the old 'it is harder against ten men' adage - total nonsense, I have never ever seen a manager only send out ten men to make it harder for the opposition !. We decided the best idea was to keep the ball, pass it around and play with patience and hoped that the huge turn out of Leeds fans would be patient if we did not score before half time. We need not have worried, within a few minutes a neat passing move found Kilkenny unmarked just outside the area and he hit a low shot right into the bottom corner - a good strike (even if not as spectacular as his last one). Pretty much straight after that the (once again) impressive Snodgrass beat two men and chipped it to the far post where Becchio does what he does best - head it in at the back from a yard out - That pretty much ended it as a contest but better was to come when Snoddy went on another run and powered into the area where instead of passing to the unmarked Dickinson on the penalty spot for a tap in he chose to go it alone and smashed it in himself. 3 - 0 and still 20mins of the half to go. We continued to press and only good keeping kept the score down . At half time I said I would like to see Lubo given a run out (in place of Naylor) -well be careful what you wish for ! He did come on in place of Rui and it is clear that he has not improved - they got a corner and just like under Macca, Lubo was beaten in the air and the Crewe forward headed home - there were about 6 players all going for it so I would need to see it again before blaming Lubo but he was one of the 3 Leeds players who went for the ball (with Naylor and i think Douglas). The game continued much as before with us still creating but not finishing. Grella came on for the tiring Dickinson who had not had a bad game - and again looked lively but then they struck again - the ball was cleared by one of our defenders who was then taken out long after the ball was cleared but the ref had already turned away and missed it - thats how late it was ! The ball then came back into the box and after a bit of ping pong it fell to their striker who poked it home 3 -2 and the nerves were jangling a bit. Their keeper then made another good save but was outdone by a flying save from Casper who turned a good shot round the post and we clung on the the victory. Overall a satisfing day out and result, but of course at 3 up against ten men so much more was expected second half and we failed to deliver so there was also a sense of disappointment too. For me Kilkenny - rejuvenated under Grayson - and Snodgrass were the best players. Lubo is not good enough and we need Naylor to stay fit. Once we are safe for the play offs I would rest Delph for a couple of games too. But going into the 'business end of the season' things generally are looking good even if second place is beyond us. Dave _______________________________________________ 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 Visit http://tinyurl.com/ce37mx NOW!
