Well done Colin, well done GFH, and well done all the players. That was good and enjoyable. During the afternoon I was tempted to give the game a miss and go to run my cubs as per usual on a Wednesday but I stuck with the lads and I am really glad I did! At kick off it was great to look around the ground and see a full South Stand - the £15 experiment worked as 25,500 fans turned up in place of the 17,000 or so who would otherwise have come. So we had 15,000 paying as opposed to 7,000 (we have 10k ST holders) so I would have thought, even allowing for kids, the gate receipts would be similar. So whilst 25k is nothing to get carried away with it was a big increase in recent midweek crowds and hopefully the 'returners' will be happy with what they saw The extra fans seemed to inspire the players right from the off, as they went about their task with a passion and commitment not seen in (m)any League games this season. We were on the front foot with a 4 3 3 system which led to Varney, Morison and McCormack interchanging and linking up quite well. Behind them Green, Tonge and Norris were lively and had some good pass and move stuff. As fans what we ask for is a bit of effort and a bit of skill and we got both yesterday. We were pretty much camped in their half and had a number of decent chances and half chance in the opening 45mins. The best probably fell to Morison who charged down a clearance and took the ball past the keeper, the angle was very tight as he shot and the ball hit a defender on the line and fell to McCormack whose shot was also charged down. Warnock (the full back) took the ball the whole length of the field and put in a good cross that we were unable to get on the end of, later another good cross was met by a Varney header but he was unable to get above the ball and it went over. McCormack and Varney both had decent shots which were saved / shaved the post as we continued to dominate. We did have a couple of scares when Blackpool broke quickly and Kenny had to pull off one great save from a shot just inside the area, the loose ball fell to a Blackpool player who put it in - luckily he was offside and the lino had spotted it. The ref (once again ?) gave us nothing - they got away with a blatant 'keeper picking up a backpass' Warnock was chopped down and the ref gave it to them etc. So half time came and there was a bit of a buzz around the place that has been missing recently , although we were also worried that we would rue the missed chances. Thankfully the second half proved to be a carbon copy of the first as we continued to dominate both possession - unusual for us- and territory and for once, actually created chances. Eventually the breakthrough came as a corner from McCormack was hit quite low and Green bent to try and get to it and missed the ball but so did the defenders and it fell to Norris just inside the penalty area - he hit it sweetly through a crowd of players , keeping it down and hitting it hard. The keeper, seeing it late, had no chance. The crowd went wild. Could we go on to win ? Well we nearly made it very hard for ourselves as Blackpool waltzed through us and put in a great low cross that thankfully no-one could quite touch into the net. Then a few minutes later some good interplay ended with Byram chipping in a lovely ball, Norris bent and tried to head it back to tee up Green but ex Leeds scapegoat Crainey intercepted the pass and his 'clearance went across the area into the six yard box to an unmarked Morison - this was the moment of truth for him - the new striker or the new Billy Barndoor ?- well he controlled it with his first touch and then with his second he buried it into the net , a good finish but it seemed to be in slow motion. So 2 0 and the question now was could we keep a clean sheet. We defended deeper and deeper and failed to keep the ball so it kept coming back but we mainly restricted them. Then to shore things up on came Brown and his first action was to foul a forward going nowhere on the edge of the box. Thankfully they wasted the good opportunity. They had one other good chance when the forward headed over when he should have scored and so we held on for a deserved victory and a deserved clean sheet.Only our second home league win of the season where we have won by more than one goal. So hats off all round and it does keep the dream alive for a little while longer - I think it is just a dream,. only Boro are catchable and we are still 6 points above us (albeit we have a game in hand) , Brighton are much closer to them and both have a better goal difference. As for individuals - before the game we wondered whether Ashdown should get the nod over Kenny, but Kenny proved his worth today with a couple of good saves in a match in which he was mainly redundant. It was my first view of both Stephen Warnock and Morison . Warnock was what I expected solid but unspectacular , he did his job and looked decent with one good run. Morison was a bit of a mixed bag - he won a few headers and also lost a few, he scored and took it well enough but you would have expected anyone to score from that position. He worked hard but went wide too often for my liking in a flexible front 3, and twice he went running down the wing and kept running until he and the ball was off the pitch. Early days and I will reserve judgement but the goal will help him settle in. Lees and Peltier were solid again but Lees looks like a rabbit in the headlights at times when he has the ball. Byram is looking jaded and was out of position on a number of occasions - the lad is class, lets hope we do not ruin him. The midfield 3 were lively enough, although Green gave it away a lot , and had a decent mix of steel and skill although they were given a hard time by Ince the best player on the pitch , but he did drift in and out a bit , and 'his Dads a c and so is he" McCormack tried hard but was profligate in front of goal on occasion and it was not really his day. Varney is slowing winning the fans over , the chants of 'Varney Army' were meant and not ironic last night. I quite like him, he is quick(ish) , lively with good feet and is good in the air, a shame he has not played a major role this season.
Colin - well he got it right this time, I suppose, but he does not seem to know what he is doing either formation or player wise and seems to make it up as he goes along. I don't recall us playing 4 3 3 with this midfield before and yet the 3 midfield players have been with us most of the season. I still want the new manager to come in sooner rather than later so he can assess things but I suppose we should keep Colin until it is mathmatically over ? I heard a story last night that GFH - and credit to them for the bargain prices last night - are going to reduce STs substantially for next season - not sure if there is any truth in it All in all then a good night, 2 good goals, a clean sheet, 3 points and a decent sized crowd watching a team play with pride ! Dave _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER
