Leeds United A Proper West Yorkshire Derby
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Leeds United: A Proper West Yorkshire Derby
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A typically fiery West Yorkshire derby ended all square on Saturday thanks to a late Huddersfield equaliser as Leeds turned in a so-so performance at the weekend.
Leeds were under the cosh for the majority of the first half at the Galpharm Stadium, going 1-0 down when an Anthony Pilkington shot was cruelly deflected past Casper Ankergren in the Leeds goal.
United’s forward play lacked any real purpose and intent and they were fortunate not go in two or three goals down at half-time, thanks in no small part to a howler from Jordan Rhodes who blazed high over the bar from the six-yard line.
Simon Grayson rallied his troops at half time and Leeds were quicker out of the traps, turning the game on its head in five second-half minutes when Howson and Becchio both struck to give the Whites the lead. The travelling 3,995 Leeds fans were hopeful of a first away win over Huddersfield since the early days of the Don Revie era.
Leeds were to be denied though when a late equaliser from Gary Roberts meant that this see-saw clash ended all square, which in the end was a fair result that Leeds fans shouldn’t be too disheartened by.
As for the West Yorkshire bragging rights that were up for grabs, most Leeds fans were more relived to see that the side appears to be settling after much-discussed recent blip. The Leeds-Huddersfield rivalry is very much a one-sided affair, with few United fans scouring the fixture lists for this match when they are released.
Having played 13 games in 42 days, Leeds’ frantic schedule has now slowed down a little, giving the squad some time to recharge the batteries and rest niggling injuries. One player that has been playing through the pain barrier is Casper Ankergren, who has quietly gone about being one of United’s most consistent performers in recent weeks despite carrying a hip injury.
Elsewhere in the squad, questions are being asked of the quality of loan signings Gary McSheffrey and Shane Lowry. The pair that arrived from Birmingham City and Aston Villa respectively have looked far from convincing and appear to be lacking in the Premiership pedigree that Leeds fans expected.
Also flattering to deceive is Jermaine Beckford, who hasn’t troubled the goal column since the transfer window shut at the end of January and the former Wealdstone man was rumoured to have signed a pre-contract agreement with Everton. A coincidence? We’ll leave that one for the conspiracy theorists to decide. At least his strike partner Luciano Becchio has picked up the slack, bagging six goals in the last eight games.
We’re now down to the final two months of the season, and taking a glass half-full attitude, the fixture pile-up has eased which should freshen up the squad, give them more time on the training pitch to allow the team to start gelling again.
On the flipside, Leeds face a daunting quartet of fixtures later this month: away to a Southampton side that put five past Huddersfield this week, last season’s play-off adversaries Millwall, league leaders Norwich away and then in-from Swindon at Elland Road. This run of fixtures will have a huge say on whether Leeds can achieve that all-important top-two spot.
Wins against mid-table Brentford at Elland Road this weekend and at lowly Tranmere on Tuesday night would certainly give United a confidence boost, but as all Leeds fans know, their team rarely make life easy for themselves.
Leeds fan Joe Mewis runs football history website www.onthisfootballday.com
and Elland Road regular Mark Fletcher runs beer reviews website www.real-ale-reviews.com
Posted on Wednesday 3rd March 2010
Joe Mewis & Mark Fletcher
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