When the first message on my WhatsApp this morning is from my son saying "
spring in my step and a song in my heart" you know all is right with the world
for a bit because Leeds have won
It was a comfortable victory really against a team who offered very little.
If we are looking for 3 teams worse than us, forest have to be one.
Pre match stats had us worried- they had only scored 4 all season we had won
every game when we started in the bottom 3 - cue them winning and scoring 5
goals inc a worldie from someone who has not scored for 3 years
Thankfully that did not happen ( although their goal was his first in the Prem)
I agree with what Rich has written below.
We struggled a bit to start with - they hit the post from a corner then carved
us open, what was Ayling and then Sinisterra doing? However we dug in , the
crowd stayed behind the team ( as Rich says it included a good tribute ) and
there was an air of confidence around ER .
Our goals were good, lovely move ended with Mckennie shovelling a pass to
Roca, his shot was parried to the lively Harrison who lashed home. Then just
before half time Sinisterra danced his way through tying a defender in knots
before curling in a beauty.
Second half we continued to dominate and were first to everything. Roca having
a stormer, like many I have wondered about him but last night he was
excellent , as was the much maligned Firpo who linked up well with Sinisterra
but also made one brilliant goal saving tackle. Sinisterra showed what we have
been missing, coming very close with another curling effort, and everyone else
played their part. Struik looked commanding at the back, Harrison was at his
best and Bamford worked his socks off.
A great victory and with Bournemouth and Leicester losing a quick glance at
the table puts a smile on your face - 13th. A closer look is not so great,
just 2 points above the relegation line, but last night was job done for the
first bit , now we need to build on it by beating Palace on Sunday.
Under Marsch we looked like a team going down, under Javi we look like a team
with a fighting chance of staying up. It is our hands .
Dave
On Wednesday, 5 April 2023 at 09:41:41 BST, Richard Walker via Leedslist
<[email protected]> wrote:
"The scabs are going down" sang the South Stand and yes they most definitely
are. This game reminded me of playing against a lower championship league team,
in that we had so much space all over the park and created chance after chance
after chance. Sini and Jack looked resembled Messi as they danced their way
past the Forest players and in midfield, Roca and Mckennie had the freedom of
the park. It still didn't stop us going behind and then nearly conceding a 2nd
in the opening 15 minutes. "How shit must you be, we're winning away" sang the
scabs. Ayling looks vulnerable against a pacey Forest winger and ti was no
surprise that from one of their breaks down the left the ball was passed to an
unmarked player who slotted home with ease. Stunned silence and I thought it
could be a long night.
But to our credit, and Forest's inpetness we came back strong and started to
build attack after attack wtih Sini and Jack at the heart of everything. There
were too many chances to describe but it seemed like a constant wave of attacks
on the Forest goal without anyone having the ability to stick it in the net.
The goal eventually came from Roca's unmarked shot on the edge of the box being
parried into the path of Jack who hammered it into the net. Then, towards the
end of the half, Sini danced around a couple of Forest defenders and side
footed it into the far corner. Typical goal from him. From then on, we really
should have buried them be we fluffed chance after chance with the final ball
lacking at times. Inevitably this led to us hanging on injury time but to be
honest Forest looked toothless by then despite some good searching long balls
from Shelvey. Jimmy came on as sub and had a great one on one chance to finish
it but he put it wide. That summed up most of the match for me.
A good win, against poor opposition and a follow upagainst Palace at the
weekend will put us in a strong position.
Scores:
I think most of these scores should have the statement - against shit
opposition added on to them.
Meslier - 6. Not sure he had much to do other than pick the ball out of the
net.
Ayling - 6. Struggled initially but he worked very hard and put some great
challenges in.
Firpo - 8. Much improved and actually did some useful defending but as with all
the performances last night I think you have to bear in mind the weak
opposition. He got forward well in the first half.
Struijk - 8. Very solid against ....
Koch - 8. Very solid against ....
Mckennie - 7. Still a bit subdued and I worry about his mobility but he did
what was needed.
Roca - 9. Man of the match for me and the first time I've seen him actually
show that he can influence a game. He worked tirelessly and put some great
tackles in combined with some fantastic long range passes. I've never doubted
that he has a nice left foot but he's lacked presence mainly due to lack of
pace/ acceleration. Last night, he had the freedom of the park and was actually
able to show us what he can do given space. My big question is can he do it
against better opposition ? I hope so. Mcphail would have had a ball out there
last night as well !
Harrison - 8. Lively throughout. Still manages to pick out the opposition with
last ball passes with ease.
Sinisterra - 8. Fantastic first half against .... Great goal.
Aaronson - 6. Worked hard but still looked very lightweight.
Bamford - 5. Looked exactly what he is - a player who hasn't played much
football for 2 years. Worked tirelessly but his timing was off and he never
looked like scoring despite having a number of chances
Subs:
Rodrigo - 5. Looked very slow
Jimmy - 6. got booked and should have scored but he put himself about
Great rememberance from the fans last night crowd by turning our backs for a
minute. RIP Chris and Kev. I didn't travel to Istanbul but I was sat with
people last night who were there in the square and they are still equally mad
and sad about the events that night. There was no damaging of Turkish flags, no
abusing locals, just a large mob of murdering Turks that attacked the Leeds
fans with knives. We will never forget.
I thought we played well against a very poor Forest team. I’ve never seen us
have so much space in midfield and God knows how many chances we fluffed.
Should have had them buried long before the 5 minutes of ET where. Inevitably
we were holding on. Sinistera and Harrison both looked like Messi as they were
able to dance around Forest players and even Aizlewood had a good game. Lots of
people saying ‘I told you Roca was great’ Well I never doubted he had a ‘nice
left foot’ but my issue is does he have te pace and the presence to really
dominate in midfield and play those killer passes when under pressure. Last
night he had the freedom of the park. Mchpail would have loved it too.
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Dave Dowden, a legend, a Totty Twin, a pie man! R.I.P.
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