The ref blew his whistle and I said "what is that for ?" "The end of the game" was the reply, so absorbed was I and enjoying it so much that I did not realise we had played 90minutes It was not the same as Stoke or Derby but it was brilliant by the end and I could have stayed and watched this for another hour It was not all one way - far from it - but by the end the fans were giving it "Ole" and the Rotherham players were chasing shadows as we passed and moved, passed and move, passed and move and created chances. We wondered and were worried on our way to the game that this was the match where we would be found out and it would prove to be another false dawn. Rotherham came for a point and got everyone behind the ball and wasted time from the first minute. We had a very mixed first half, when some of last seasons faults showed they were still there. Phillips kept giving it away needlessly and twice Cooper, so impressive in the other games, reverted to type and made two suicidal passes that could (and should ) have cost us goals - both times being saved by some great keeping by BPF. Me and my lad had a bit of a falling out as I said that this style and system would give goals away and we all needed to stick with it and support the players 100% - him saying his problem was Cooper blaming BPF for the mix up when it was his fault. Whatever we rode our luck and to be fair they could have scored 2 or even 3 goals in the first half and they did indeed hit the post
By the same token it could have been 3 3 as Ayling , Klitch and especailly Berardi came close with long range shots, as we really took the game to them without really hitting the heights of the Stoke and Derby games Second half was a different tale altogether as we pretty much took them to the cleaners and Rotherham were out on their feet by the end as they tried to stem the white tide that just overwhelmed them Fairly soon after the restart we got the goal that we probably deserved. A well taken corner was met by Cooper (very similar to the 3rd v Stoke) but his header was saved, the ball fell to Roofe who shot goalwards but again it was blocked and fell kindly to Ayling who headed goalwards. Some of us and some of the players appealed for the goal but the ref and linesmen did not think it was over the line - seconds later the ref pointed to the centre circle - he had got the nod , technology kicked in and a goal , Aylings first in real football for us,was given That messed up Rotherhams plan for 0 0 and they had no answer as some brilliant play ripped them open time and again. A fantastic move deserved a goal soon after, and what a goal it would have been, but Saiz took slightly too long and let a defender get back to the goal line and clear it off the line We were in total control by them and never gave them a sniff and sure enough we got the second to put the result beyond doubt. Again it was a great team and individual goal - some lovely passing and really composed play at the edge and in our area led to Phillips playing the ball to Klitch just inside our half , he laid it back to Phillips who then played perhaps the longest pass of the match to Roofe who got himself goal side of the defender, he then stepped inside his man and from a tight angle (as we shouted at him to square it) hit an unstoppable shot that went smack into the inside side netting, a great finish That ended the game as a contest and it was just a question of would we score again as we stroll around the pitch passing the ball with a style and aplomb not seen at ER for many a long year In the end 2 0 was enough for us all as Baker, Jansson and Bamford all got a few minutes game time. So not as comprehensive as the other two league games but Bielsa has set some records today and whilst the first half was even ,by the end we were to quote DoL "worthy winners" We are perhaps suspect at the back and BPF got a very rare clean sheet for him, but our game is all about scoring more than them and it was another performance that was a pleasure to watch, Long may it continue and all I can say to those of you who do not go to games is , IF you can get to ER this season, do so, it is a real pleasure and we can expect a lot more full house and 'sold out signs' this time out. I have no idea if we can win the league / get promoted / reach the play offs BUT based on the two games I have seen it will be fun finding out and worth watching Dave _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ RIP Jimmy WAC-COE
