Well bang goes all the optimism and euphoria of the last couple of weeks, as we came crashing down with a defeat to the bottom club. Redfearn, as he often did last year in saving our season, came , saw and sneaked out with the points in a game they did not deserve to win. One chance , one goal and then defend with a mix of skill, determination and luck (plus some poor finishing from us) Things started well -fans applauded the playing of the Marseillies and then remained perfectly silent for the requisite minute. The bad bit was realising that Bamba as he laid the wreath was not dressed to play and therefore we would have Cooper and Bellusci in centre defence-cue at least one massive mistake. The first half was pretty much a waste of time, a good sized crowd (25k) found nothing to warm them up on a bitterly cold day. The 700 or so from Rotherham did nothing to aid the atmosphere as two teams cancelled each other out. Two bits of action did help a bit, the first a great move by us, Ante and Dallas linked up well and Dallas put one of his good crosses into the box and it fell to Mowatt - he hit it goalwards and then from nowhere the keeper appeared as if out of a hole in the ground and palmed it away - great move and a great save. Should Mowatt have hit it harder, maybe. The only other incident was a great free kick by them that thundered into the post - the ref let them re-take it and booked Ante (his taking off the shirt booking could now come back and cost him) for encroachment We were still confident at half time, what little football there had been had come from us , and when we did put it down and play we did cause them problems but our final ball was poor. The second half nearly started with a real bang as we soon broke into their area and ANte pulled a great shot just wide of the post. He had another shot that also flashed past the post but we were struggling to create real chances. Then the (almost) inevitable happened. They got the ball in our half and we failed to tackle or intercept the ball and then a hopeful punt into the box found their centre forward totally on his own (Cooper and Bellusci' big error) and he headed home giving Silvestri no chance. We tried to win it eventually sending on both Bokata and Erwin trying to find that extra bit of class. Murphy went close with a chip after a good ball from Wood, Wood himself almost got a last minute equaliser but was shoved in the back as he headed and it went straight to the keeper. We huffe d and puffed but with Cook and Mowatt both off their game we never really looked like getting back into it. Even the six added minutes (for the red cards) did little to convince either crowd or players that we could get something from this game. So a less than great performance and an awful result - one win in 14 home games now ? In the 'battle of the managers' Redfearn got the three points but as with a number of games for us last time he must wonder how he managed it. Evans showed that he is not the sort to sit and watch a game just fizzle out but despite his attacking substitutions today was not his day. The main talking point after the game was the return of the 'Barmy Berardi' - the madman who got sent off twice in his first few games and who seemed to be a real headcase. He had tamed his beast for the last 12months and has been our best and most consistent player in that time and turned himself into a crowd favourite. Yesterday he lost it more than pretty much any player I have ever seen. I did not see what had gone on but suddenly we saw him push a Rotherham player to the floor and wrestle with the linesman and just generally go mental. He was really berserk and it was no surprise when he got a straight red (be lucky if he only gets 3 match ban) and no surprise that he was 'reluctant to go' - to say the least. I had no idea what had gone on but a lad on the bus was showing photos on his phone of Berardi with his nose smashed all over his face so I assume he got an elbow and did not like it. The good news from the team point of view is that Taylor may be fit for next week. So a bad day all round - expect us to be for sale tonight ?- and Evans to be sacked if we lose next week at QPR ? -
Dave _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER
