What a brilliant match - like many I had fallen into "it is only the league that counts - let's accept an honourable defeat" mentality and went to the game almost hoping for a one nil defeat BUT when myself and the other 4,500 or whatever fans got behind the team from the first whistle THIS was the game that counted. Let the future games and the league take care of itself (what is so wrong about this Division anyway ? I am loving being the big fish in the small pond "we all hate Leeds scum" rather than being also rans in the Championship and certainly the Premiership as it stands) We got hammered for 20mins and only the determination of the whole team and a slice of luck kept us in it (and Casper). Whether some on this list want us to lose or not ,it is clear that the players want to stay in this competition and enjoy the ride - every one of them was immense in terms of commitment, even if we were lacking in skill and real quality at times. Matches \ results that you really enjoy and remember for a long time are few and far between and yet we now have had 2 in one competition in one month !! OK i totally missed the scum game but those watching at Old Trafford or in Sydney and elsewhere will always count it as one of their highlights in years to come - and so will those of us who were there yesterday. A master stoke by Grayson to play Snoddy and not Becchio. Beckford with his all round game showed that wherever he ends up he is 100% Leeds at the moment. We had heroes all over the pitch with Kilkenny and Kisnorbo especailly putting themselves on the line with real determination. Casper was immense- we all know he is a good shot stopper and yesterday he proved that to the world. For me only Howson was below par and that was not down to any lack of effort on his part. As for the support - though I say it myself - we were brilliant - we got behind the team from first to last, even when it looked like we would be hammered at the start or when the game was (almost) up at the end and defeat appeared the most likely outcome. Lets hope a full house can generate the same sort of atmosphere in the second leg. We had a decent repartorie of songs as well yesterday - I especailly liked "Harry's a c*nt , he dodges tax" and the sarcastic "Fergie time" when the 5 mins went up on the board at the end.Plus "You're Leeds and you know you are" to Robbie Keane when he was warming up - he smiled and did not deny it !! The penalty award was almost surreal and for Becks to score, given our poor penalty record over the last 2 seasons, was just unbelievable and we all went mental. OK we may or may not get hammered in the replay but today was worth every penny and every minute of a long and expensive day out ! Whether the cup run will impact badly on our league form, only time will tell (a poor result at home to Wycombe and away to Exeter on a quagmire are not proof that they will - and as for the Carlisle game, we hammered them really) but clearly Grayson does not think so or he would not have got the players fighting so hard - not just at WHL or Old Trafford but v Oldham and Kettering too. Plus the revenue this cup run is bringing has got to benefit the club in being able to attract and pay for new and better players ( I am sure Grayson will insist on getting some of the money IF he thinks we need it) Yes we need points at Swindon and v Colchester but for those of you who are not enjoying the cup run remember the old cliche "the league is our bread and butter" so lets enjoy our slice of the cake when we get a chance (let's face it our Cup record over the years has been largely abysmal!!) 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 www.leedslist.net
