LFL: LEEDS

Rather than feeling disappointed at not getting the three points we needed I feel surprisingly good after our much-improved display. Alderete came in from the cold and put in a sound performance while Angulo had surely his best game for us so far. It was great to see Talbi back again doing what he does best. Unbeaten in two games… Well, I think we’ve turned a bit of a corner.  

BEFORE

I suppose this has to be a must-win match. Three points would certainly put a much better look on the league table. I heard that Calvert-Lewin may not be playing and that will help matters as he's always a menace but Leeds will be tough opponents. They're currently in eighth spot, though their recent form hasn't been that great with one win and four draws in their last six. No doubt there'll be plenty of changes from the team that started against Lech and if we ever needed Brobbey to put in a shift again, this has to be the time. Danso will be out through suspension and there’s lots of debate online about who should be in our back four. Many are against Alderete coming back but I reckon we could do worse than put O’Nien in there. He’s a man for a battle and this is going to be one. Storm Boelo will surely play its part. I'll be at the game and my match prediction is a 2-1 win for us.

I got the team-news on the bus over to the stadium and there were six changes from Thursday’s starting line-up. Brobbey was starting and O’Nien was too. I called in at ALS and while there I got the scores from the 2.00 matches. Newcastle had beaten Palace and that was good in the immediate sense as a win today would put us above the latter and out of the bottom three. I figured we could take care of the Mags later on. Hull had only drawn while Bournemouth had beaten Man United, which really plunged them into the mire. I was in my seat in the Upper East Stand at 4.15 and that wind was blowing strongly. Unsurprisingly there was a sizeable contingent of Leeds fans. My friend’s match prediction was 1-0 to us. There was a great cheer when Brobbey’s name was announced. Calvert-Lewin was playing after all.

THE GAME

Both sets of fans were in good voice as the game began. In the opening five minutes Leeds were in our half more than we were in theirs and then we conceded a free-kick right next to the left touchline midway into our half. Roefs managed to get hold of it and so far the wind wasn’t having a noticeable effect. In the seventh Brobbey had an effort on target which Trafford pushed away for the first corner of the game. Nothing came of it and soon Leeds had their first corner, which we got clear. In the thirteenth Mukiele tried a bobbling shot that was never going to go in but we were having a go and the game had evened up. In the seventeenth we lost a throw-in because we took too long to take it. Angulo had made two tricksy back-heels that had come off and I hoped for more. Mukiele was down injured for a minute but was able to continue. In the twentieth Brobbey was tripped as he raced goalwards but we couldn’t make anything from the resultant free-kick. It had been a fairly decent opening quarter from us. 

Trafford was booed for taking ages to take a goal-kick and I suspected it wouldn’t be the last time. Next thing Brobbey was through one-on-one with him and he managed to grab the ball. The game had entered a fast and furious stage and Angulo was fouled as he went on a good dribble towards their box. Ampadu was yellow-carded for that. The free-kick bounced off the first man and that was that but we then had a good spell of pressure around their box that had me on the edge of my seat (well, it would have if I’d had the legroom to do so). Rigg and Angulo were creating a good deal of action down the wings and I could feel a goal coming. Reinildo gave away a free-kick in a dangerous spot at the left angle of our box in the thirty-ninth but we headed it clear before a free-kick was awarded in our favour. Five minutes to the break and a goal now would be crucial. O’Nien escaped a free-kick when he and Calvert-Lewin had a ‘coming-together’ but he had our hearts in our mouths the next minute when it looked like he was about to gift them a great chance on goal before recovering at the last moment. Only one minute of added-time was announced and soon that half-time whistle was blowing, to modest applause all around me. The lad next to me said he thought that Leeds had been holding back so far and could up their play if required while we’d huffed and puffed.

As we kicked off again it felt like a single goal would win it. In the first minute Mukiele went down injured and had to receive treatment on the pitch for several minutes as the Leeds fans chanted, “You’re not fit to referee” for the benefit of Stuart Attwell. After play restarted we were down to ten men for while before Alderete came on for Nordi. He got a decent ripple to be fair after his very poor showing last week. The first thing he did was to make a good clearance from our box. Leeds won a corner in the fifty-sixth and Roefs confidently held a header from Muharemovic. Leeds were doing a lot of pressing but in the fifty-eighth Angulo had a good low shot on target that Trafford pushed away to safety. We soon had another corner and though we didn’t capitalize on it, we kept up pressure for a short while. Next thing another Angulo shot had Trafford leaping to get it away and our fans were back in good voice. Bogle clattered Angulo and I could hear it up in my seat. The free-kick only resulted in a goal-kick for them while we were hoping for a corner. Shortly after the hour-mark Brobbey went off, as expected, and Tutierov replaced him. Leeds made a couple of changes too. In the sixty-seventh there was a nasty clash of heads near the half-way line that resulted in a booking for Bogle and a free-kick for us.

Alderete tried a flick from the free-kick and thumped the ground in frustration as his effort went wide. Twenty minutes on the clock and we were putting pressure on, winning another corner which Leeds struggled to get clear. Passions were running high on the pitch and in the stands. Leeds were still looking sharp on the break but our defence were looking a lot better than of late. The Leeds fans were howling for a penalty as Calvert-Lewin went to ground but Mr Attwell wasn’t having it. At that moment he looked very fit to referee. Angulo got a good ovation as was subbed but the sub received an even better one as it was Talbi. At the same time Diarra came on for Le Fee. Talbi was straight up their end causing trouble. Ten minutes to go but there was bound to be a lot of added-time. In the eighty-fourth we had a penalty shout for handball waved away. Calvert-Lewin was then subbed by Nmecha. There was a great atmosphere and I felt we were going to score. Trafford went down after colliding with a defender and quite a few of our fans started to make for the exits. Roefs was called upon to make a rare save that led to a corner and Leeds very soon had another corner. Meanwhile six minutes of added-time had been announced. We won a corner in the ninety-second but, perhaps wind-assisted, it went straight across and out for a goal-kick. There was a terrible scramble in our box before Leeds eventually won another corner. We cleared that but things were getting decidedly edgy as Leeds then had a free-kick in a dangerous spot. That was the last real action and it ended 0-0, to much applause in my area at least.